IN this week’s Boxing News we preview the impending Francisco Vargas-Orlando Salido showdown, tarnished, we believe by Vargas failing a drug test. However, the fight goes on after the WBC super-featherweight champion claimed the clenbuterol in his system came from eating contaminated meat in Mexico…
WHETHER Francisco Vargas ate contaminated meat or not, the bottom line is he tested positive for a banned substance in the lead-up to a world title fight, and it goes ahead regardless. That is wrong on every level. It’s becoming tiresome to hear excuses, and – contrary to what too many promoters will tell you – just because someone requested testing does not necessarily mean they did not take anything. Golden Boy should have demanded a full investigation before declaring Vargas’ innocence, and certainly before hosting the fight. But it seems the whole thing has been brushed under the carpet to take its place alongside countless other sins of the sport.
Back in 2012, it emerged that Erik Morales had clenbuterol in his system, days before his Golden Boy-promoted shot at then-WBC super-lightweight boss, Danny Garcia. That fight went ahead too, after Morales played the contaminated meat card. The New York State Athletic Commission told Boxing News days afterwards that they believed Morales’ version of events, and that was that.
While Vargas and Morales may well be innocent, the aforementioned commissions, sanctioning bodies and promoters are guilty of staging bouts when rules have been breached.
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