Snips and Snipes

 

There is a line of argument that says that poachers make the best gamekeepers. Victor Conte certainly thinks that. The former Balco executive, who served four months for money laundering and supplying steroids to athletes such as Marion Jones and Barry Bonds, has been offering his services to various bodies as a consultant on the best way to catch drug cheats. Not surprisingly he has had a very cold reception. People dislike discovering that their heroes have feet of clay, but they save their hatred for those who shop them. The bodies he duped are also not likely to welcome him with open arms.

 

This attitude is all understandable, and although Conte may know what he is talking about, no one is going to listen, as they judge the singer and not the song.

On boxing he is particularly scathing. He was recently quoted as saying that “If the testing procedures for the Olympics, the NFL and Major League Baseball are flawed boxing is the wild, wild west of performance enhancing drugs. Most fighters open training camp about eight weeks before a fight,” Conte says. “They only way to ensure they’re really clean is to have some type of random, unannounced testing, and both blood- and urine-testing. I think you could do blood testing up to five days before a fight with no physical detriment to a participant,” Conte says. “A compromise of 10 days would be all right. But as soon as you go 14 days or more, that’s enough time to use EPO and build up your red blood cell count. At 24 days, there’s all sorts of things that can be done with thyroid medication, fast-acting forms of insulin, EPO, testosterone etc.”

 

He may be right, but sometimes just lifting the edge of the carpet and sweeping unwelcome news away is how it is done in the sporting world. If you do not believe that, then I have to tell you that I know of a positive test for the victorious world champion in a fairly recent title fight where the local authorities advised the sanctioning body and the sanctioning body gave the fighter the equivalent of a slap on the wrist and the results were never made public.

 

The IBF/WBO heavyweight title fight between champion Wladimir Klitschko and mandatory Eddie Chambers will take place on March 20 at the Fortuna Arena in Dusseldorf, which seats 51,000. I don’t know what distresses me most, the fact that 51,000 Germans are willing to turn out to see another Klitschko routine defence, or that “fast” Eddie is the best that America can offer.

 

It did not take Zsolt Erdei long to realise that his future lay back at light heavy. The unbeaten Hungarian has relinquished his WBC title and it is reported that the WBC will order eliminators between their top four contenders, Krzystof Wlodarczyk, Giacobbe Fragomeni, Herbie Hide and Francisco Palacios.

 

Ohioan Billy Lyell is cashing in on his upset win over John Duddy last April. Spaniard Pablo Navascues failed a routine drugs test ( the value of random testing)and was dropped as a challenger to IBF middleweight champion Sebastian Sylvester. Lyell steps in on January 30 as a late substitute. In contrast with Klitschko, Sylvester will appear in front of a crowd of 4,500. On the same show Swedish heavy hope Robert Helenius will face former WBO champion Lamon Brewster.

 

Two other title fights will be held in Mexico this weekend. Jorge Arce will clash with Indonesian Angky Angkota in Mexico City for the vacant WBO super fly title and Nicaraguan Roman Gonzalez defends his WBA straw title against Mexican Ivan Meneses in Puebla.

 

The following week in Merida Jorge Solis will have another try at winning a title as he challenges Colombian Likar Ramos for the WBA interim super featherweight crown.

Still on titles. The WBC were less than happy about the circumstances of Rodel Mayol’s WBC light flyweight win over Edgar Sosa and are demanding that the Filipino defends against Mexican Omar Nino on February 27. Nino failed a drugs test after winning the same title from Brian Viloria in 2006. Mayol wants to make a voluntary defence on the Pacquiao vs. Clottey show in Dallas on March 10, but the WBC have said they will strip him if he does not fight Nino.

 

Former WBO super-featherweight champion and current WBO No 2 lightweight Jorge Barrios is in deep trouble. He is in jail in Argentina on charges including Culpable Homicide. Barrios was driving his vehicle in Mar del Plata when he allegedly went through a red light at speed and crashed into another car. The car was sent careering into some pedestrians, killing a pregnant 20 year old girl and injuring seven other people. Barrios left the scene of the accident, but later reported to the police with his lawyer. He is now in jail, the same one that Carlos Monzon spent some time in, awaiting a hearing.

 

Roger Mayweather is also in trouble, but of a less serious nature Mayweather is accused of beating and choking a female boxer last August at her Las Vegas apartment. Roger Mayweather is the uncle and trainer of boxer Floyd Jr. He was to be arraigned on felony charges of coercion, battery-strangulation and battery with substantial bodily harm in connection with the alleged assault. However Mayweather failed to turn up. The judge reluctantly said a bench warrant would be issued for Mayweather’s arrest if he failed to appear next time.

 

Looks like Erik Morales will be returning to the ring. The aim is a fight in Mexico on March 27 against the former WBA secondary champion Jose Alfaro at welterweight and then aim for a title shot at light welter.

 

Puerto Ricans are getting excited about the first pro fights for twins McJoe and McWilliams Arroyo. These two won a hatful of medals each as amateurs. They will fight on the February 27 in Bayamon when Wilfredo Vazquez Jr faces Marvin Sonsona for the vacant WBO super bantam title. McJoe will fight at super bantam and McWilliam at super fly. As a Scotsman I will follow the career of any boxer with a Mc in their name.

 

Two deaths to report, one of which I overlooked before. Former WBC light fly and WBA fly champ Yulwoo Lee died of cancer in Daejon, South Korea on December 10. He was 42. Lee beat German Torres for the WBC title in 1989 and won the WBA title by beating Jesus Rojas in 1990. The other death was that of former Finnish heavyweight champion Tony Halme who apparently committed suicide. Tony had a 13-6 record with only four of those fights going the distance. His best win on paper was over Iran Barkley, but by then “The Blade” was 38 and over the hill. My sympathies go to their families.

 

South African boxing, in the shape of Branco Milenkovic, is really becoming a force. Branco has managed to get the IBF straw champ Raul Garcia to come to South Africa to defend his title against brilliant prospect Nkosinathi Joyi. Branco is hoping to stage it in East London but is looking for help from the provincial Government. In addition he outbid Golden Boy for the WBC eliminator between Simphiwe Vetyeka and Abner Mares and outbid Don King to land an IBF eliminator between Joseph Agbeko and Vusi Malinga. To top it off he also landed the fight for the vacant IBF lightweight title between Ali Funeka and Rolando Reyes, with a bid of $140,000.

 

Still on South Africa, former WBO light fly champion Masibulele Makepula is returning to action in April. The 36-year-old “Hawk” is facing Lubabalo Msuthu for the World Boxing Federation bantamweight title. Makepula has been inactive for almost two years, but is now a pastor with his own church in Johannesburg.

 

In addition to the above, Mdantsane-born knockout specialist Zolani Tete clashes with Filipino boxer Paul Garcia in an International Boxing Federation (IBF) flyweight elimination bout on February 26, and a day later, another Filipino boxer will be in action against a South African fighter, when Juanita Rubillar faces Hekkie Budler in an IBO mini-flyweight championship bout at the Emperors Palace in Kempton Park.

 

Not all South Africans are fighting in South Africa. Kaizer Mabuza will fight former WBO champion Kendall Holt in an IBF Junior Welterweight eliminator at Bally’s Atlantic City, N.J. on Saturday, Feb 27. This will be Holt’s first bout since losing his WBO title to Timothy Bradley last year in Montreal.

 

Boxing is a family business in the Philippines. Competitors at a recent amateur tournament featured the grandson of the former great Gabriel “Flash” Elorde and the son of former WBC super feather champion Rolando Navarette. In addition Dodie “ Boy” Penalosa Jr, the son of former double world champion Dodie Penalosa won his first paid fight. Dodie, the elder, was a modern miracle as he won his titles despite having one leg shorter than the other due to suffering from polio as a child. The Penalosas are a fighting family as Uncle Gerry, also a former double world champion, faces Eric Morel in a WBO bantamweight eliminator next month.