Canelo Dirty Drug Test Is A Meaty Issue;
GGG: “I Just Want A Level Playing Field, Boxing Is A Dangerous Sport!”
By William Trillo
Photo-Chop: Bret “The Threat” Newton
We are barely a week out from the Kick Off press conference that announced the Cinco De Mayo rematch between Gennady Golovkin vs. Canelo Alvarez and controversy has already reared its ugly head. Simply put, Canelo tested dirty for the banned PED Clenbuterol. The drug can burn fat, build muscle and improve performance. It’s pretty easy to understand the concern. In the body of a world class boxer the drug known in athletic circles as “Clen” can be a deadly proposition.
Early Monday afternoon Golden Boy Promotions sent out a press release that among other things stated, “As part of the voluntary testing program that Canelo Alvarez insisted on ahead of his May 5 fight, one of his results came back positive for trace levels of Clenbuterol, consistent with meat contamination that has impacted dozens of athletes in Mexico over the last years….Upon receiving this information, Golden Boy immediately notified the Nevada State Athletic Commission and Gennady Golovkin’s promoter, Tom Loeffler…..”
Pound4Pound reached out to Loeffler later in the day to see if GGG had made any comments about the failed drug test. According to the 360 Promotions chief Tom Loeffler, Golovkin said, “Gennady says he just wants a level playing field for both fighters as boxing is a very dangerous sport. That is why Abel has insisted on testing for GGG fights, to make sure there is no question as to GGG’s tremendous punching power or his conditioning in Big Bear.”
I then mentioned to Loeffler that chat rooms and message boards across the internet where crying “Bull”, (pun intended), to the claim that Canelo must have gotten that dose of Clenbuterol while ingesting some tainted Mexican meat.
Loeffler quipped, “That seems to be the opinion of a lot of people.”
In Canelo’s defense the Golden Boy press release quoted Alvarez who said, “I am an athlete who respects the sport and this surprises me and bothers me because it had never happened to me. I will submit to all the tests that require me to clarify this embarrassing situation and I trust that at the end the truth will prevail.”
At this point it’s hard to imagine this will put the Block Buster Event in any jeopardy and barring Canelo being served up another plate full of Clenbuterol Carne Asada it’s doubtful any of his upcoming tests will show any signs of PED’s and the fight will go on as planned.
If I was running the show down South pollo y pescado would be the main dish of choice until Team Canelo make their way north of the border.
Really?
The most anticipated fight of the new millennium and you want to play around with tainted meat stories? Just giving you the benefit of the doubt, have you not seen this same story in Mexico often enough for you to be just a tad more careful than this?
Good Grief!
We have literally two months to go for these guys to settle the score. Let’s hope this is the last we hear from either camp for the next few weeks.
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