SIX years ago, Boxing News ran a cover dominated by an image of a topless Saul “Canelo” Alvarez accompanied by the coverline “Lawless”, which essentially teased an in-depth investigation into the Mexican’s two failed performance-enhancing drug tests ahead of a planned fight against Gennady Golovkin on May 5, 2018.
Fast-forward to today, meanwhile, and Alvarez finds himself again gracing the cover of Boxing News, only this time his behaviour – that is, his career – is celebrated as the coverline reads: “Far From Finished.”
Indeed.
Six years, you might argue, is a long time, and maybe by now it’s only right that Alvarez, a fine fighter and dominant champion, is forgiven and that his transgressions be forgotten. But what isn’t a long time is six months, which just so happened to be the length of the ban Alvarez served for clenbuterol being in his system before a scheduled prizefight in 2018. When taking into account, too, the fact that Alvarez, as the sport’s biggest money-maker, need not ever fight more than twice a year, six months merely amounted to the typical time he might take off between fights.
WBA president Gilberto Mendoza expressed his frustration to me in Cardiff on March 29, 2018, about the timing of the test and the fact that Canelo had tested negative in previous instances. This conversation took place shortly before my interview with Alexander Povetkin, a known drug cheat, who had not been tested before arriving in Wales. Mendoza questioned why the fight between Alvarez and Golovkin was being halted and speculated if it was a marketing strategy that he didn’t comprehend.
After seeking advice from experts in the relevant field, the amount of clenbuterol detected raises doubts in my mind. However, I am unable to perceive any wrongdoing. I fully support Canelo without any reservations. I firmly believe in his integrity as he has never previously tested positive for prohibited substances.
“If anything were to happen to Anthony (Joshua), it would be akin to a significant loss for the sport. These individuals symbolize and uphold the essence of our industry. They are the very foundation of our existence, and fans, sanctioning bodies, and fellow fighters are indebted to them. Throughout their careers, they have maintained an untarnished reputation. However, it is conceivable that unforeseen circumstances may arise at some point, and I comprehend that.”
Trying my best to avoid being impolite, I made an effort to suppress my laughter and avoid widening my eyes. However, it was challenging not to be surprised once more by the words spoken by the participants in this self-mocking sport. It was also hard not to think that Mendoza’s relaxed attitude and outspokenness stemmed from his belief that everything would eventually resolve itself. He was confident that Alvarez, a boxer of immense commercial value and importance to the sport, would be forgiven and permitted to continue supporting the multitude of individuals who rely on him during the intense fight week in Las Vegas. In September, this belief proved to be true. Despite having already served his suspension, Alvarez not only returned to the boxing ring but faced his greatest rival, Golovkin, once again.
Canelo Alvarez (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Even after six years, he continues to thrive. He not only continues to triumph in battles but also contributes to his already remarkable reputation. Only his adversaries bring up his past mistakes, as exemplified this week by Oscar De La Hoya, or as further exemplified later that same day by the misconduct of his unruly colleagues.
Ryan Garcia, a 25-year-old individual, has recently stirred controversy among his peers due to two positive performance-enhancing drug tests. These incidents have sparked countless admonishing social media posts, which flooded the internet on May 2. The initial positive test occurred on April 19, followed by another on April 20, coinciding with Garcia’s victorious fight against Devin Haney. Despite fracturing his opponent’s jaw and knocking him down three times, Garcia’s triumph has been overshadowed by these drug test results.
By the way, the drug that Garcia tested positive for was ostarine, Povetkin’s preferred and banned selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM). The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) prohibits its usage in and out of competitions due to its ability to enhance muscle mass, aid weight loss, and improve athletic performance. Additionally, Garcia’s test results indicated the presence of 19-Norandrosterone, a metabolite of the banned substance nandrolone. Further analysis is currently underway to gather additional information.
Unsurprisingly, Garcia has predictably maintained his innocence and adamantly denied any knowledge of consuming prohibited substances. Employing a strategy employed by others, he has also suggested the possibility of a witch hunt or foul play, while pointing to ashwagandha root, a natural stress-relieving herbal supplement, as a potential culprit for the positive test results. It is advisable to disregard and steer clear of any videos or tweets related to this matter, as history has taught us.
Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Empire State Realty Trust captured Ryan Garcia in an image.
Regardless of the truth, the outcome of Haney vs. Garcia was incredibly shocking. What’s even more surprising is that no one, to my knowledge, even considered the possibility that the winner, who openly advocated for substance use during training, might test positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Looking back, this outcome now appears inevitable and perhaps the most fitting way for such a disgusting fight and rivalry to come to an end. It serves as the ultimate insult and a just consequence for everyone involved, whether it be for the death threats, the strange behavior on social media, the collective ignorance, or simply the overall unpleasantness of it all.
Taken further, one might even suggest that it isn’t just the ending the rivalry deserved but the one it perhaps needed. That is to say, Haney vs. Garcia needed an ending like this just to restore some sort of equilibrium; restoring, at the same time, at least some of us to sanity. Otherwise, without it, this denouement, we were all in danger of being manipulated into thinking we had got it wrong, or that we were in the wrong, and that by allowing ourselves to be “duped” by Ryan Garcia’s apparent mind tricks we were somehow all gullible, naïve, or lacking intelligence. Meanwhile, Garcia, the so-called genius of the piece, nonchalantly rode off as the hero, described by some, purely on account of the volume of rubberneckers his rotten behaviour had attracted, as both the “future of boxing” and the “face of boxing”. If indeed that is true, it’s worth remembering now that it’s not the face on the cover that counts. It’s instead what you see in their eyes; where the truth never hides. It’s also what’s written on the page. The titles. The names of beaten opponents. The weight classes conquered. And yes, the drug tests failed.
