According to Kevin Iole: LAS VEGAS — The Nevada Athletic Commission is getting proactive in its bid to stop the use of anabolic steroids and drugs of abuse among boxers and mixed martial artists. While the commission has long conducted post-fight drug testing, the commission earlier this month conducted surprise drug tests on two high-profile boxers and a big-name UFC star. Boxers Shane Mosley and Zab Judah, who meet in a welterweight bout at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on May 31, as well as UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn, were randomly tested earlier this month. "I'm very pleased to tell you that all of their tests came back clean," Kizer said. Sean Sherk, who fights Penn for the title on May 24 at Mandalay Bay in Vegas, was tested, though he was aware he would be tested. Sherk, who recently came off a lengthy steroid suspension in California, is required to provide a clean test before he can be licensed in Nevada. His results have not come back. Mosley, Judah and Penn passed the random tests for anabolic steroids, diuretics, amphetamines, marijuana, cocaine, opiates and phencyclidine. Mosley gave his sample on April 12, Judah on April 15 and Penn on April 17, Kizer said. Random drug testing was a recommendation to the commission by the Committee on Boxer Health and Safety, which was created by former Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn after a pair of in-ring deaths in Las Vegas in 2005.
this would be one of the very best things that could happen to the sport. I hate steroids with a passion. The problem is what happens when you start busting fighters... if the promoters start hurting, things can get messy very quickly. Maybe insurance companies will step up, increasing the promoters' costs, but not beyond reason. We'll see. I think the testing probably has to have a limit...you can ruin a card a month out, but you better not ruin one with a week to go. Then you get into fan pockets and that's going to be a problem.
Why the hell would they test (in advance) the boxers for amphetemines, pot, coke, opiates, and pcp? Those drugs don't help fighters train better or get better results. It's just an unwarranted invasion.
I think that it's more for steroids but since they have the blood already, why not test for everything?
dsimon writes: I was thinking the exact same thing.....:doh: Lets make things real complicated shall we?
Because the 4th amendment protects citizens against unreasonable searches by the state. are boxers cheating? reasonable are boxers doing illegal drugs a month before a fight? unreasonable
What's unreasonable about testing athletes for drugs? So you would prefer them doing it two weeks after the fight and changing the decision to a NC, therefore shitting on everyone that paid for the fight and the fighters themselves, at lastly and SURELY LEAST, the promoters?:doh: :dunno:
how is this surprise testing? Judah has been asking for the testing since the fight was made. Because of fear that Mosley comes in roided.
As the USOC, I'm not claiming to be a scientist. All I'm saying is that if the end result is a NC and a fine AFTER the event, then they should test BEFORE the event, so that no one gets screwed out of anything.
Cocaine, PCP, THC metabolites stay in the blood for days and weeks after intake, there can be residual effects in a positive (pain threshold) or negative fashion (e.g. if taking benzos as hypnotics, psychomotor speed would be affected for days/weeks afterwards), hence you have to look for these things for the sake of the fighter's bown health and that of his opponent.
Salaco, the pain threshold from something like coke or PCP would be when you were on it, having done smoe coke or even PCP 2 weeks before a fight is not going to help in any way, shape or form, surely you can't be serious? If anything it's going to be detrimental, and would fuck with the fighter's natural chemical balance. Joe King - why don't you just answer his question straight, instead of giving irrelevant, nonsensical, IandI esque answers? Doing some coke 2 weeks before a fight would matter how? How would this help the fighter?
All the more reason to check for it, like you, even though I added the "positive" remark, I really wouldn't see the use of recreational drugs in the days or weeks beforehand as performance enhancing, but its still potentially important for the fighter's health in the ring...another example, if the fighter is a frequent narcotics user and went on withdrawal in the days/weeks before the fight to avoid a positive test, you could have a guy in the ring not only fighting his opponents but also withdrawal syndrome
:doh: :: :laughing: :: so if a guy is a drug addict, we dont want him getting OFF before a fight cuz his withdraw would hamper his performance?::
it will mean promoters will have to line up more quality back-up fighters so the cards could still go on. for example, in the case of Mosley/Judah, have someone like Cintron as a back-up.
No you imbecile, the point is that surprise tests would allow him to be caught if in fact he was a regular user and intended to withdraw with the usual post-fight tox screen in mind.
This is good. Get all the druggies and roiders out of the sport.:clap: If they did this sh*t before every fight, most fights probably never would've taken place. They woulda detected the crap in guys like Vargas and Shane prior to their DLH fights.
I told you, I don't care about the fighters in this regard to what the motive is to TAKE the drugs. I'm worried as a fan that the result or the event itself could be cancelled by the results of the tests.
So you'd like to attend an event to see coke-users and roiders? I'd rather see clean professional athletes.
Then surely you should be AGAINST testing for recreational drugs? No tests, no cancellations or NC's. Salaco - I guess that would be the only reason, but unless they went on a complete fucking bender, and were up their eyeballs in MDMA, coke, 'phetamines and scag :: then I can't see that they would be in such a state as to be a risk to themselves. Personally I think it's pointless. Test for steroids, every steroid they can, and that's it. The idea of getting a NC or cancellation for smoking puff for example is laughably absurd. If anything it's going to be a slight detriment, but without being damaging enough to cause a health risk etc.
I named both. A lot of guys are out there either roiding or taking coke, crack or whatever else. They need to be eliminated from the sport. Another point, Tyson taking drugs. Not good for the sport.
