So, looks like another failed drug test in boxing, this time by Lucian Bute.
Boxing has no proper centralised doping laws, or a WADA style testing regime. The number of boxers who have failed drug tests is (in the scheme of things) quite low ..... which leads me to surmise that we have a serious doping issue in the sport, as those who are caught are invariably just the tip of the iceberg.
I belive that steroid and other drug abuse has been rife in boxing since the early 1990's. Anybody remember Evan Field, who was caught up in the BALCO scandal? If that had been any other major sport, that individual would have been formally identified and charged. But not boxing.
I belive that there is deep seated cultural thing in play here.
Look at Meldonium, which hit the news when Maria Sharapova failed a drug test recently. It is intended for people with acute heart failure, and it speeds up the flow of blood around the body, providing greater oxygenation and therefore stamina. Up until last year, for some reason, it wasn't on the banned list.
Now look at the amount of people who were taking it. There have been hundreds of Russian athletes caught, including Povetkin. Anybody with half a brain knows that an international world class athlete is usually not suffering from acute heart failure, so they must have been knowingly taking it for performance improvement. That is absolutely against the ethics of any sport, but they all thought it was OK to do it.
Look also at the amount of professional athletes who 'have asthma'. A standard asthma inhaler contained a chemical which increases the dilation of the alveoli in the lungs, giving more efficient oxygenation, and therefore better performance.
The running coach, Alberto Salazar, allegedly (!) tells all his athletes to claim they have asthma so they can be approved to use an inhaler ..... Thus gaining an immoral performance improvement.
If you want to test the culture of your own countries athletes, see how many of them 'have asthma'. I guarantee you the percentage will be unfeasably high.
All those people are cheating, but they somehow think it's OK because the inhaler is not banned. They are missing the point, and that is why sports will perennially suffer from doping issues..
