Special drug test for B-Hop/Pascal?

This is really shady if it's true.

 

I'll be interested to get people's perspective on this. If it turns out to be true I think it's a majour development in boxing. 1) because it would in essence be a clear example of a commision changing the mandated safety requirements for a fight after a contract has been signed. I imagine there are pressidents for this but I can't think of one this contraversial or on this level. 2) If its a blood test it would represent the first time a commission has taken blood for the purpose of testing for PEDs. Something that I believe is long overdue.

 

Yeah but changing the requirements after a contract is signed in a manner that appears to be for the sake of a house fighter is completely ridiculous. If the Quebec commission is so serious about this do it for everyone, not just for this one fight because of Pascal's transparent attempts to get into Hopkins' head.

 

Ya that is why I'm so interested to hear what people have to say about this...because it is clear that there is a double standard going on here. If it was Bernard whining about Pascal being on the juice you can bet they wouldn't add anything to their current requirements. But on the other hand again it does represent the first time an actual commission has mandated testing. It would set a very interest president for the future. Basically it would be like saying to any forign fighter in the future if you want to fight in Montreal be prepared to take a test. That is more then one fighter saying anyone that fights me has to take a test and that is a much bigger deal then this fight will ever be.

Personally, I can't ever see them going down that road because of future money that might cost them. If you look at Ontario their commission still requires same-day weigh-ins. Now most people would agree that on a morral basis this is great but it really screws over bigtime boxing in Ontario because other then Heavyweight fighters no world class fighter that cuts 10% of his body weight before a fight is going to agree to that kind of policy.

 

I completely agree that this could have long-term negative consequences for the commission. If they go through with this, right on the heels of Bute-Andrade I and Funeka-Guzman I promoters are going to become more and more hesitant to let their guys fight there. I don't really think decisions like those mean commissions in Canada are corrupt or anything like that, but this kind of favoritism about drug testing could be the last straw for guys like Shaw and Schaefer. Fighters and promoters might become willing to leave money on the table to avoid dealing with the commission again in the future.

A single commission ramping up its drug testing requirements might be much more significant than any given fighter demanding it as condition. But as you note, the fact of the matter is that other commissions won't necessarily go along with them, and guys may simply avoid fighting in a given area. This becomes much more likely if the Quebec commission changes its requirements with the extermely questionable methods mentioned here.

 

In the short term though I can see them liking this idea though because lets face it Pascal and Bute sell out the bell center and do big numbers on American TV. But if old man popkins comes in and screws that all up then there goes a lot of money with no one in the wings to fill the gap. So if you are the commission why let some juiced up Yank come up here and screw you out of future paydays?

The otherway of looking at it is that as long as Montreal is where the money is Montreal can call the shots. Bute is pretty happy making millions a fight against over matched bums. If Andre Ward wants to stay away cause his dope masters are scared of testing he can find his money someplace else.

My guess is that if they do add something it won't be something designed to actually catch a drug cheat. More then anything I'd bet it would be (like you said) just designed to **** with bernard's head. At most they might add a blood test after the fight to prevent him from doing something that night.

BTW they have a WADA certified lab in montreal and the former head of WADA (Dick Pound) is a lawyer from Montreal so don't sleep on this. There may actually be some people kicking around the sporting hiarchy in that city that philisophically have a lot of motivation to see more strictor testing methods impliment.

 

Yeah, but I can anticipate the site of any potential fight between Bute and Ward or Froch for example being a subject of great controversy already. Those fights will probably have to take place on neutral sites anyway. I can see those two being happy to return to Oakland or Nottingham respectively for fights against other names in the division, especially since those two can make decent money in their towns and winner of the Super Six will likely have a more legitimate claim to being top dog. If the commission does in fact institute testing in this manner, I can see Quebec being completely ruled out in the eyes of both fighters.

The gate advantage Montreal enjoys will only really be significant for guys who have far less drawing power and/or are simply unwilling to walk away from a fight; it would be hasty for the commission to simply assume they enjoy anything approaching an absolute advantage in this situation.

 

Ward can't make as much as Bute in Okland. The guy only gets about 4,000 people to his fights. That being said if you are right and the really big money fights would happen else where then the commission would probably be losing less in making an example out of hopkins wouldn't it?

 

Well I think doing this to Hopkins would essentially put the commission out of the running entirely for such fights, which might not necessarily be the case at the moment. It depends how likely they think they are to actually land such fights; going from 50% to 0 probably is not the most desirable, but 15% to 0 might be. If they've already decided that they have no chance of landing them anyway, then I can kind of understand why they would make this move, though I still don't care for it at all.