"CHEATS DON'T DESERVE FAME"

by Frank Warren

NOBODY likes cheats and a debate has arisen in Boxing Monthly on whether boxers who break the rules should enter the International Hall of Fame.

As a proud member, I have a vested interest in who will be inducted down the line.

There is little doubt that the likes of Shane Mosley, James Toney and Roy Jones Jnr are all great fighters.

Between them, they have lifted countless world titles at a number of different weights. But they have also all been caught taking performance-enhancing drugs.

I for one believe that should automatically exclude them from entry to the HOF.

Dr Margaret Goodman, formerly of the Medical Advisory Board of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, said: "Using PEDs in boxing has to come at a price.

"Unlike other sports, the risk to the opponent is so great - having possibly lethal implications - that proven usage is reason enough for exclusion."

And Wallace Matthews, former president of the American Boxing Writers' Association, added: "If you keep fighting when the other guy is tired, you can do real damage. You can kill somebody.

"It's almost the equivalent of taking a weapon into the ring."

I agree. There is little difference between taking PEDs and loading your gloves as Antonio Margarito did - and imagine the feeling if he were considered for induction?

Would Ben Johnson and Marion Jones be invited into the Athletics Hall of Fame? It's a no-brainer."

Source: The Sun