The realization that five of the current top ten heavyweights have failed a drug test in their careers is now a sobering fact.
Lennox Lewis, as usual, had a wise take on the shock issue. The former undisputed heavyweight champ weighed in on the controversy surrounding Jarrell Miller.
‘The Pugilist Specialist’, who often shares his thoughts on the top division – especially, believes more testing procedures early in careers could help the current climate.
Miller lost millions of dollars after testing positive for a trio of banned substances. The American had never previously undergone strict VADA testing.
‘Big Baby’ saw an opportunity to win the top division crown ripped away. Miller was denied a license to face Anthony Joshua on June 1st.
Joshua is now on the lookout for a new opponent, although a portion of his targets had also been caught out before.
The likes of Luis Ortiz and Manuel Charr were high on Joshua’s agenda of late.
Lewis says getting officials from VADA involved for other bouts, not just title fights could be a way to help solve the problem.
“There’s no place in boxing for PED’s. Simple as that,” Lewis said of Miller. “Those caught cheating should be severely penalized. To a point where they would never ever consider it again.”
He continued: “Not all fighters making their way up in the ranks are required to have VADA testing. So they may think they can use them to get up to a certain level and then stop. But it becomes a mental thing afterward.
“When you strip a man of his edge. Take his cape away. He’s not so bold,” added the one-time king.
It’s common knowledge that VADA is struggling for funding across the board, though. Fighters at the higher level are required to stump up the funds to pay for the involvement of VADA and others.
To go further down the ladder, some sort of pot of gold would be needed from the boxing fraternity to ensure the safety of the boxers competing.
CLEAN BOXING
The World Boxing Council are currently leading the way in that department. They employ testers to cover the Top 15 competitors.
In order for a fighter to be ranked by the organization, they must sign up to the Clean Boxing Program. Others have been urged to follow.
With TV, managers and promoters taking piles of cash out of the sport, this trend is not likely to change anytime soon.
Of the top 10 at 200 pounds plus, according to the Boxrec rankings, an amazing fifty percent have already been flagged for an adverse finding.
Whether this ever changes would require a complete overhaul of the way boxing is run in the long term.
BOXREC TOP 10 (April 2019)
1 Anthony Joshua (None)
2 Deontay Wilder (None)
3 Tyson Fury (Adverse Finding)
4 Dillian Whyte (Adverse Finding)
5 Alexander Povetkin (Adverse Finding)
6 Jarrell Miller (Adverse Finding)
7 Luis Ortiz (Adverse Finding)
8 Kubrat Pulev (None)
9 Joseph Parker (None)
10 Dominic Breazeale (None)
