One of the most striking things I noticed when Conor Benn failed a drug test was how naive the people in and around boxing were. The naivety in continuing to respond to positive PED tests on a case-by-case basis seems to be insufficient to suggest that PED is prevalent in sports. The naivety in blatantly accepting the confusing and decentralized management of drug testing throughout the sport. The naivety of believing that famous boxers are not interested in gaining an unfair advantage. After all, they are athletes and in addition to winning and losing, athletes cheat. Everyone cheats.
The fact that there are so many denials and substantial benefits of doubt cast upon Benn is further proof that those who work in the sport and its supporters have not really understood the idea. that PED has become a big deal in boxing. Who wants to speak openly and openly about the true ability of some boxers to be unnaturally elevated in an inherently dangerous sport, when they can discuss the pound-for-rank? -pound, A-side and B-side and who is ignoring whom on the detour?
It was as if using a performance-enhancing potion was a dark art that had somehow changed boxing. Isn’t PED supposed to be something that the kings and queens of hypertrophy on Instagram use, or something that pops up in other sports like track and field, cycling, weightlifting, baseball, etc. ? Sure, we can understand Ben Johnson and Lance Armstrong as drug cheats, but their boxing equivalent is not supposed to exist. Jarrell Miller was just a mistake, wasn’t he? Canelo Alvarez and Tyson Fury just ate the wrong animal in the right place. Our folk boxing does not do supplements; We eat raw eggs at dawn, chop firewood, and eat beef steak and potatoes to stay healthy.
PED is rampant in sports and boxing is no exception. With the main benefits of using them being greater endurance, muscle mass, strength and resilience, people (should) assume that boxing is fertile ground for them.
One thing boxing has done very specifically is focus our eyes on the boxers and a little differently, distracting fighters and fans from the sport’s broader setbacks. . Big names like Roy Jones and James Toney, Erik Morales and Fernando Vargas have been caught using PEDs. Shane Mosely has admitted knowingly using steroids. They are allowed to emerge without much damage to their reputation and legacy, but they are only the epitome of the problem.
Unfortunately, for the optimists and the obstinate, who can’t fully absorb the reflective reality of PED in boxing – at any level – and the possibility of their favorites being invincible. Faced with the temptation of using them, the way fighters prepare is far more nuanced than before. Boxers train like athletes now.
The traditional regimens that previously included road, jogging, heavyweight boxing, and some basic exercises have been expanded to include workouts with trainers, nutritionists, and strength doctors. and air conditioner. Recovery has become more valuable than repetition. What goes in the body must have a function. Details are more granular than ever and are rarely controlled by a single head coach.
Perhaps it is the sanctity of men and women to send their bodies and minds to fight injury for money and to provide us with entertainment in one of the most primitive and non-existent sports. most tolerant, making boxing reluctant to accept it just like other sports have their rules. broken by people willing to cheat.
We say it’s too early to label Conor Benn a cheater. ‘Hopefully there’s a simple explanation for this’. ‘Let’s wait for sample B before evaluating’. ‘He won’t do it; he has so much to lose’. These are some of the excuses used to defend Benn soon after.
As for the fact that he has so much to lose, I wonder what Ben Johnson would think of that as a reason not to take a performance-enhancing drug.
He lost his gold medal, career, future and global credibility after testing positive at the Seoul Olympics. Johnson’s failed test remains the most famous drug scandal in Olympic history and possibly all of sport. It was an absolute headache at the time. Why would he risk it and on the biggest sports stage of all?
The answer(s) are not hard to find. Johnson wants to gain an edge in his competition, fulfill his dream of being the best, and reap the financial rewards that come with that. Temptations like these can offer an opportunity for a different life and overwhelm an athlete’s desire to stay ‘clean’.
Coercive discounts should not be used in PED use cases. Men’s and women’s competitive sports tend to believe that ‘the coach is the one who knows best’. Benn fans protesting his innocence will likely consider a scenario where the boxer has fallen prey to manipulation of some sort. Chris Eubank Snr thinks that Benn was lured to use drugs is completely justified.
It is extremely forgivable that Eubank Snr – who vehemently opposed the fight taking place out of concern for his son’s health – to defend an opponent who allegedly did not play straight, and who has since believed released news was investigated for another failed test. . Eubank Snr will have his reasons for doing so, but believing that Benn was lured into taking health-enhancing drugs is that you are stumbling across the fine line between being extremely hopeful or delusional.
Of course, the flip side of Benn’s backers are those who don’t. The condemners. Some insist that PEDs have no place in boxing and that anyone using them will face an automatic ban. There are sides that consider Benn’s actions immoral, considering the weight concessions Chris Eubank Jnr made and the health concerns that enveloped the match as it approached.
Others focus on intent. Was he intentionally using the enhancements to help him counter Eubank’s natural advantages? The mind came back as Benn began to display a form of serious destruction in the ring. Where does that punch’s power level come from? It wasn’t evident in his previous battles. Former rival, Chis Algieri, revealed that he had heard that Benn was a ‘dirty’ boxer. While another, Chris van Heerden, did rounds on the Podcast to acknowledge the psychological effects of being blown away by Benn, and expressed his doubts that Benn is pure.
All questions and fair points, but will they see Benn-Eubank Jnr pass it? Probably the most. Because it’s always about two boxers with boxing, gravity, nothing else. The barely existent infrastructure, shabby chic and unruly moral compass of the people who run the sport can be forgiven if a big fight is waged and generates a decent amount of revenue. abundant.
There shouldn’t be many different opinions when a boxer fails a drug test. His or her future should be determined entirely by science. Considerations of their status and ability to get fans into their seats and get fans to buy pay-per-view shows and not make their tests fail no result.
But who will arbitrate this? Where does the credibility come from to make the sport adhere to strict rules? The Boxing Control Board’s handling of Benn’s contest was a disaster. It’s transparent and doesn’t give any answers. To enter into a scenario of becoming toxic and demeaning to sport in the UK, it is inevitable that compromises must be made with outside authority and perception. The board clearly has limits on what it can rule and enforce, so who and what will? Now is the time to learn and act.
