DRUG-FREE DONAIRE
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 11 Oct 2012
WBO and IBF junior featherweight champion Nonito ?The Filipino Flash? Donaire promoted an excellent image for Filipino boxers and the whole country as well when he decided to submit himself to a year-round drug testing last June. He became a good example to all fighters in the boxing world. The move came after several boxers were tested positive for banned substances which led to the cancellation of several fights. The series of drug tests were conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA).
Donaire is the first boxer in the world to agree to a year-round drug testing. That means he will be subjected to random drug tests 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. The fighter revealed that he was tested by VADA for the first time on August 23, 2012. Jennifer Hunter, an agent representing the VADA paid Donaire a surprise visit on October 2, 2012 to obtain blood and urine samples as part of a random drug testing program. In addition to his producing a large cup of urine which was then divided into ?A? and ?B? samples, Hunter helped secure blood from the boxer enough to fill four small test tubes.
Donaire said the act did not dissuade him from working out and that it would not affect his daily practice. He explained that his nutritionist Victor Conte would even extract blood for five bigger tubes to test what is essential for his body conditioning.
The agent reported through boxingscene.com: ?VADA has conducted tests which include, but are not limited to, the Anabolic Steroids panel, Carbon Isotope Ratio (CIR/IRMS) tests for the presence of exogenous testosterone, and analyses to determine erythropoietin (EPO) and human growth hormone (HGH) administration. Although further analyses may be conducted on previous or future specimens, I can confirm that all results to date are negative.?
"You have to tell them anywhere, anytime where you are going to be at," Donaire said. "So if I am going to the Philippines, you have to give them the date, location and if you are going anywhere else. You have to let them know, and they will have people come out there randomly," Donaire told ESPN.
Former two-time world heavyweight champion John Ruiz in SecondsOut Boxing Notes was quoted, ?The only sport in which steroids can kill someone other than the person using them is boxing. You?re stronger when you use steroids. You?re quicker and faster. If a baseball player uses steroids, he hits more home runs. So what? I?m not saying that it?s right, but you?re not putting anyone else at risk. When a fighter is juiced, it?s dangerous. People go crazy about the effect that steroids have when a bat hits a ball. What about when a fist hits a head??
James Toney was sanctioned in New York, when he tested positive for nandrolone after beating Ruiz in the WBA heavyweight championship fight on April 30, 2005. The result of the Ruiz-Toney fight was changed to no decision. Toney was suspended for ninety day and Ruiz was given back the title.
Tommy Morrison divulged in an interview with RingsideReport.com that he took steroids throughout his boxing career. "You become bigger, faster, and stronger,? Morrison said. ?It helps with your endurance and recovery time between rounds. I looked around and, from what I saw, everybody was doing the same. It wasn?t something that was talked about openly; but when you looked around, you could tell. I just looked at it as bettering my chances. Without steroids, I wouldn?t have gone as far as I did. I guarantee you that.?
Notable fighters who were tested positive for steroids were Frans Botha, Roy Jones Jr., Richard Hall, Fernando Vargas, Cruz Carbajal, and Orlando Salido, among others.
A clean Donaire, free from performance-enhancing drugs and other banned substances, will face Toshiaki Nishioka at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California on October 13, 2012.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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