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'Roids on the radar Posted: Monday June 03, 2002 5:54 PMUpdated: Wednesday June 05, 2002 10:09 AM
Should pro boxers be tested for steroids? Currently, no state commission tests for the performance-enhancing drug -- but Nevada officials plan to test every fighter beginning next year. Any talk about steroid use in boxing these days is purely speculative. Like major league baseball, boxing is one of the few sports that’s remained relatively free of testing. Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson, combatants in the heavyweight showdown Saturday night, likely won’t be tested for steroids before the fight, as the Tennessee Boxing and Auto Racing Commission doesn’t require mandatory drug tests. And even if the sanctioning bodies tested, there’d be plenty of time for the drugs to be out a fighter’s system and avoid a positive test. “I don’t think the use of steroids is prevalent in boxing,’’ says Dr. Flip Homansky, vice chairman of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. “It is a potential problem, though. And it’s absolutely a problem in mixed martial arts, ultimate fighting and that kind of thing.’’ Over the last decade, however, Homansky acknowledges that Nevada officials have spot checked about 30 boxers. He says two instances of steroid use have been detected, and in both cases the “prominent fighters’’ were warned of the dangers and advised to stop. As performance-enhancing drugs take greater hold in sports culture, Homansky fears that boxing could see an even greater percentage of usage. The initiative by Nevada is noteworthy because the state, and in particular Las Vegas, is a leading fight-site in the country. “You often hear that steroids don’t help or they don’t help in boxing,’’ Homansky says. “Well, steroids do help. And steroids do make you a better fighter. They don’t just make a heavyweight better -- they make any fighter better. Fighters get better from injuries quicker. “So, I think, it starts out as a way to recover from an injury. If you hurt your shoulder, you get an injection -- the inflammation and swelling goes away much quicker.’’ Just no one knows how common usage is. |
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