THE World Boxing Council (WBC) last week revealed that two Mexican boxers, Rey Vargas and Julio Cesar Martinez, tested positive for clenbuterol but they would be forgiven due to new rulings from the World Anti- Doping Association (WADA).
It seemed like a strange move on the surface, particularly from the Mexico-based organisation who have made significant progress with their Clean Boxing Program – which demands their champions and highest ranked fighters are subject to random testing from the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA). It was VADA, a combat sports testing agency but not a regulatory body, who carried out the tests on Vargas and Martinez.
Due to widespread use of clenbuterol in Mexican livestock, new legal clenbuterol thresholds were introduced in June by WADA (who oversee the testing for all Olympic sports but professional boxing is not officially under their signatory). Therefore, the ruling goes, very low levels of clenbuterol found in athletes will be recorded and monitored but not immediately deemed a crime. Instead, it will be presumed the steroid was accidentally ingested while further tests are recommended. Innocent until proven guilty, if you will.