In this day in age of athletes being stronger, faster and more impressive than ever before, drug testing has become a premium to keep all sports clean and on a fair playing field.
Boxing is no different.
Having any advantage of an opponent in the ring is what any fighter strives for and all though drug testing has become a must for any bigger fight, some fighters still choose to cheat and use PEDs.With Floyd Mayweather leading the way, drug testing has helped clean the sport up as much as it can, but some fighters are still finding ways to bend the rules.
Timothy Bradley has to be commended for being so vigorous in his drug testing, opting of the respected VADA testing to make sure there are no doubts that he is clean. He even went to the Mayweather motto route and said his boxing is the result of “hard work and dedication.”
When Bradley mentioned that there is some “bullsh—t” involved with Juan Manuel Marquez and his drug testing leading up to their Oct. 12 bout at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev. he isn’t along in his thoughts.
Questions have surrounded Marquez in the past on whether or not he is clean and with him and his camp refusing to use VADA and opt for an outside agency to perform the drug testing raises some serious red flags.
If there wasn’t anything to hide Marquez would have agreed to VADA no questions asked, but the fact of the matter is he didn’t.
With rumors starting well before his Round 6 destruction of Manny Pacquiao last year, Marquez’s enhanced physique leading up to that bout had people wondering how Marquez could look better than he ever had at the age of 39 (now 40).
With some much being invested in this fight and it being one of HBO’s marquee pay-per-view events along with Manny Pacquiao-Brandon Rios later this year, finding a way to make the fight happen amidst the drug testing conflict was a must. If that meant bending the rules in order for this fight to move is anyone’s guess, but it wouldn’t be surprising considering how Bradley feels about his promoter, Top Rank’s Bob Arum.
No matter how this fight was made the two will still have to fight it out in the ring and that’s what matters most in the end. A stellar fight should be awaiting boxing enthusiast in two weeks and let’s hope nothing comes out later that tarnishes what should be one of the best fights of 2013.
