But he has broken the rules for the fight he signed up for hasn't he? I agree that the situation he finds himself in is a severe punishment, but he landed in that position by virtue of failing a drug test. He's a drug cheat.
I used to like Saunders, I just can't any longer. I always like to try and separate a fighters personal life and professional life, I don't usually think it's fair but I'm making an exception here. After the stuff this moby has pulled over the last year I'm done with him, I hope he gets a beating, he deserves one.
I agree. That would be very interesting to know. It’s all very murky from all sides, but BJS broke a private contract with Andrade’s parties. The MSAC have made a rod for their own back and have left themselves wide open to be sued by Warren imo. MSAC follow WADA for all pro and amateur boxing, martial arts events etc why judge this one isolated case on VADA’s rules??? Take away your dislike for Saunders a moment and him breaking his private contract....why did the MSAC treat this one case differently from all the others?
I'm the opposite I think - regarding personal life. I know it's none of my business what he gets up to, but I can't get my head past the fact that he's a really horrible piece of work. Why would I want to see him do well? My feeling all along this year, watching Saunders career disintegrate, has been 'couldn't happen to a nicer man.'
I completely understand what you're saying, I personally just try to separate Professional and personal, simply because I don't walk in their shoes, people do make mistakes and I am all for second chances. Saunders has had quite a few chances and blown them all so there comes a point where I am just done and I'm done with Saunders now, When you do the things Saunders has done and say some of the things he says it's very difficult for it not to bleed in to his professional life and it has.. He was fined 100k by the BBBofC for his out of the ring antics, he just needs a real humbling, a good old fashioned slap.
Yes. He broke a private contract made between the two parties alone. He hasn’t broken the ‘official’ rules, just the agreements made between his team and there’s. So he lost the fight, over $2m purse, his belt and probably his career. If you and others want to call him a drug cheat for breaking a private contract then fair enough. I just see it as a subject like the percentage splits that should be kept in boardrooms. I don’t want to know about it, I just want to see two fighters in the ring. For me, if he breaks the official rules then he’s a drug cheat.
So to clarify, part of this private contract dictated VADA drug testing, and he failed said testing. I'm genuinely baffled as to how this doesn't make him a drug cheat. Every single reaction I've seen to this when talk emerges of 'in competition' testing referring to fight night only has been to say that's ridiculous, and that way more emphasis should be placed on testing round the clock or at least throughout training. Not only is Saunders literally a confirmed drug cheat but his attempts to get out of it seem laughable.
You’ve just posted about how you can’t help but let your judgement of the bloke in his private life determine what you think of him. You don’t like him (I don’t like him out the ring either by the way) so it’s difficult and probably pointless trying to debate with you. I feel i can separate it and to be honest i’m not really bothered about his predicament, he does sort of deserve this bad karma. What irks me is that an independent organisation (MSAC) did something different on this one particularly case and it stinks of dodgy brown envelopes to me. The only thing that has made their decision palatable to people on here is that they think BJS is a **** who deserves everything he gets. I was hoping to debate the bigger picture which is corruption imo.
Why does it stink of dodgy brown envelopes? Lets imagine you're fighting Saunders. He's recently changed from being a guy who struggles past guys like Akavov to a guy who looks like he can go with someone like Lemieux for a hundred rounds, all whilst he's started hanging around with confirmed drug cheats and at a gym which, to be polite, has a reputation. It would seem normal, indeed reasonable, to suggest more stringent drug testing for the fight. That means VADA testing. Saunders signs up to said testing, and fails. It doesn't matter if he'd pass based on BBB of C tests, or WADA tests, or Timbuktu tests; he signed for VADA drug testing and he failed VADA drug testing. And therefore, I really struggle to understand why you're so seemingly desperate for him to not be called a drug cheat when that literally is what he is. To me and seemingly lots of others, this looks less like corruption and more like a drug cheat getting caught.
It stinks of brown envelopes because they changed their normal procedures for this one fight. They don’t follow VADA. Saunders breaking a contract has nothing to do with them, i’m not sure why you keep ignoring that point. MSAC don’t follow VADA’s rules. I’m just repeating myself now over and over. No point continuing the debate.
So they added extra drug testing which they hadn't previously and as a boxing fan I'm meant to think this is a bad thing or corrupt?
MSAC don’t add anything, they just grant licenses. In regards to anti doping they follow WADA and USAAD rules. Except in this one case....but it doesn’t really matter Tony, cos you’re deliberately ignoring that point anyway. Let’s just leave it be.
So they decided to follow an additional anti-doping organisation for this fight, Saunders signed for that and for the testing that would follow, and failed said testing. Why is he not a drug cheat again?
Why did they disregard the anti doping agency they use all the time to instead go with the rules of an anti doping agency they never use on this one occasion? Keep ignoring the point.
More anti doping testing is a good thing yeah? I assume you want the sport to be clean? Why did they for this fight? I dunno - maybe they thought Saunders was a drug cheat? Guess that they were right!
