By Norm Frauenheim-
The World Boxing Council’s rankings, once considered a joke, emerged this week with potential to be a serious weapon in the long and often futile fight against performance-enhancing drugs.
Twenty-five fighters ranked among the 15 in each of the WBC’s 17 weight classes were dropped for not enrolling in the Clean Boxing Program, which was introduced in early May.
It’s a little early for sweeping judgments, but the first real step in implementation of the VADA-administered program says the announcement at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand before Canelo Alvarez’ stoppage of Amir Khan on May 7 was more than just another empty news conference.
From top to bottom, the list of fighters dropped from the October rankings included well known and unknown.
There was Khan and ex-heavyweight champ David Haye and former light-heavy beltholder Jean Pascal.
There were also junior-flyweight Angel Acosta and strawweight Janiel Rivera. Never heard of them? Neither have I.
Point is, the list went beyond the names sure to generate a few headlines. It appeared to be comprehensive, an important symbol in what WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman and VADA President Dr. Margaret Goodman have said they hope to do. To wit: They intend to rid the sport of PEDS as best they can.
Initially, I was as skeptical of their plan as I have been of any acronym’s ratings. Nothing has been as troublesome as PEDs. It’s a swamp, infested with lies that have been repeated for at least four decades. Enter at your own risk.
From the old East Germans to Ben Johnson, Lance Armstrong, A-Rod and now the Russians, it has evolved into what looks like a mess without a solution. I had begun to think like so many others: Go ahead and make it legal. Use at your own risk.
That’s cynical, but a lot of pragmatic thinking is. I’m still uncertain about whether Sulaiman and Dr. Goodman can succeed. History is as irreversible as that proverbial ship. After moving in only one way for so long, it’s hard to turn around.
But I admire their beginning. It looks to be deliberate and disciplined. And cautious. Nobody is running to the media, shouting insults and allegations while pointing to all the telltale signs about who’s using and who isn’t. It as if everybody at ringside thinks a press credential is a medical degree.
Most of the time, I’d be annoyed about prepared statements and little else. Too often, that’s just a sign of somebody with something to hide. But the history of PEDs and chaotic tenor of the debate has left only a trail of suspicions, contempt and not much else
The assumption is that nothing works. I suspect that many of those dropped from the WBC’s rankings for not enrolling in the start-up of a program subjecting them to year-round testing was rooted in exactly that kind of thinking. They ignored it as if it were just another telemarketer. But this week they got an early warning. Maybe serious, too.
