Thomas Hauser, Al Haymon and the elephant in the ring…

You know, sometimes I hate seeing that Thomas Hauser has published another article.

That’s not because I don’t enjoy them. It’s not because they’re poorly researched. It’s not because they’re badly written. None of the above apply; Hauser is a fantastic writer.

It’s because Thomas Hauser asks the questions that need to be asked which lead to the answers that we don’t necessarily want to hear.

One of his main… I guess investigations is the correct term to use… over recent years has been the use of performance enhancing drugs in boxing and he has written confidently, authoritatively and intelligently on the subject. His latest excellent article can be found here (credit thesweetscience.com), with an extract below. It’s a brilliant but somewhat unsettling read but it is something every boxing fan should read and take notice of.

Thus, it’s worth focusing on Edwin Rodriguez and the laudable commitment to 24-7-365 VADA testing that he recently made.

In August of this year, Rodriguez signed with manager Al Haymon. At least three of Haymon’s fghters (Andre Berto, Antonio Tarver, and J’Leon Love) have tested positive for PEDs in the past.

Another Haymon fighter (Peter Quillin) was enrolled in a USADA testing program prior to his June 2, 2012, fight against Winky Wright. Then, after blood and urine samples were taken from both fighters, Wright was told that the testing had been abandoned and the samples were destroyed.

Haymon also represents Adrien Broner.

Broner, Antonio DeMarco, Golden Boy (Broner’s promoter), and the United States Anti-Doping Agency signed a contract for USADA testing prior to the November 17, 2012, Broner-DeMarco fight. But according to DeMarco, he wasn’t tested by USADA for that bout, nor was Broner.

Then, on June 22, 2013, Broner fought Paulie Malignaggi.

“I wanted VADA testing,” Malignaggi recalls. “And I was told, ‘No, we won’t do VADA. If you insist on VADA, there won’t be a fight.’ Finally, I said, ‘F— it. I’m getting seven figures. I’ll go ahead and fight.’ Would I have been more confident that Broner was clean if there had been VADA testing? Absolutely.”

Golden Boy 140lbs Tournament Part 2: Danny “Swift” Garcia

Overview of the entire tournament can be found here.

If there had to be an early favourite for the proposed 140lbs tournament then Danny Garcia is likely to be that man.

At 24 years old with a record of 25-0 the RING, WBC and WBA 140lbs champ is in his prime. His development has been steady and heavily featured on TV with key wins over the likes of Ashley Theophane, Mike Arnaoutis, Nate Campbell and Kendall Holt leading to his defining wins; two victories over the legendary Erik Morales and a brutal destruction of Amir Khan. A certain amount of criticism can be levelled at most of those wins; Theophane and Arnaoutis have never really lived up to the hype, Campbell was old and undersized, Holt past his best, Morales badly faded (especially in the second bout) and Khan coming off a loss but it is still an impressive ledger for a young man to have.

The intriguing thing is watching Garcia it’s often hard to work out what makes him so good…