Notebook: Heavyweights Joyce, Chisora ready to rumble July 27
Garcia's B tested; Cruz's A positive; Title Sports Network show; Teofimo to defend vs. Claggett; Tank-Frank PPV undercard set; Fisher battles Babic; more 'Magnificent Seven'; Quick hits; Show & tell
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Heavyweight contender Joe Joyce will continue to try to get his career back on track when he meets British countryman and fan favorite Derek Chisora in the main event on July 27 at The O2 in London, Queensberry promoter Frank Warren announced on Wednesday.
The fight will air on TNT Sports in the United Kingdom with coverage in the United States expected to be on ESPN+.
Joyce and Chisora have called each other out at various times for the past several years but it will happen now as Joyce’s career took a big hit last year and he tries to claw his way back while Chisora looks to hang on and pull the upset.
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“This is a proper old-school heavyweight fight that seems to have been a long time in the making,” Warren said. “I remember it being talked about strongly even before we teamed up with Joe and it has always struck me as a natural and obvious fight to make.
“Two (of the) top London heavies fighting it out for a place back at the top table promises to deliver a cracking scrap. The winner is right back in business, with no real place to go for the loser.”
Joyce (16-2, 15 KOs), 38, a 2016 Olympic silver medalist, was a top contender coming off a crushing 11th-round knockout former WBO titlist Joseph Parker to claim the vacant WBO interim title in September 2022.
But then Joyce lost the interim belt in his first defense in a major upset to Zhilei Zhang via sixth-round stoppage 13 months ago and took an even worse third-round knockout against Zhang in an immediate rematch in September, leaving his career in shambles.
In March, Joyce returned for a 10th-round knockout of Kash Ali but two-time world title challenger Chisora (34-13, 23 KOs), 40, even in his diminished state, figures to be bigger test than Ali.
“I think I possess the skills to beat him,” Joyce said at Wednesday’s news conference. “It’s gonna be an entertaining fight. It’s the ‘Juggernaut’ against ‘War,’ so you know what you’re gonna get. We’re gonna crash in the middle (of the ring) and there will be sparks and flames.”
Chisora has fought numerous top opponents, losing one-sided world title fights to Vitali Klitschko by decision in 2012 and to good pal Tyson Fury by 10th-round knockout in December 2022 to go 0-3 against Fury.
Chisora bounced back from the most recent loss to Fury to win a 10-round decision over former title challenger Gerald Washington in his last fight this past August on the Anthony Joshua-Robert Helenius undercard, also at The O2.
“It’s gonna be a good fight because Joe don’t go backwards, I don’t go backwards,” said Chisora, who was late for the press conference because he said he thought it was on Thursday. “So, what I’m thinking is by the time we finish the fight someone’s gonna have less brain cells left in their brain. I don’t mind. That is the case. Let’s be honest about it. It’s a perfect fight for me. It’s a perfect fight for him.”
Garcia ‘B’ sample tested; Cruz ‘A’ positive
Ryan Garcia’s B samples were opened on Wednesday with his representative on hand to observe, a source with knowledge of what occurred told Fight Freaks Unite. The samples will be screened for the banned performance-enhancing drug Ostarine, which Garcia tested positive for in his final pre-fight test on April 19 and in a post-fight test in urine samples provided to the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association related to his majority decision win over WBC junior welterweight titlist Devin Haney on April 20 in their PPV fight at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
It will take at least a couple of days for results of the B sample tests to be returned but could stretch into next week due to the weekend and Memorial Day holiday. Haney retained the belt because Garcia was 3.2 pounds overweight.
Also, WBA women’s junior featherweight titlist Erika Cruz (17-2-1, 3 KOs), 33, of Mexico, who fought to a split draw in a title defense against Argentina’s Nazarena Romero (13-0-2, 7 KOs), 30, on the Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN on May 11 in Aguascalientes, Mexico, has tested positive for banned substances.
Cruz tested positive for the anabolic steroid Stanozolol metabolites 16b-hydroxystanozolol & 3’-hydroxystanozolol in a random urine test conducted by Drug Free Sport on April 29 with the test results being returned on Tuesday, according to the lab report, a copy of which was obtained by Fight Freaks Unite. She has the right to request her B sample be tested.
Title Sports Network
My new YouTube home is with Title Sports Network, so subscribe to the channel for all of our content! In the aftermath of Oleksandr Usyk’s historic victory over Tyson Fury for the undisputed heavyweight title, Michelle Joy Phelps and I gave our detailed review of the fight buildup, the fight and its aftermath. Also included on the show is Michelle’s interview with Usyk promoter Alex Krassyuk. Check it out here:
Teofimo defends vs. Claggett
Lineal/WBO junior welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez will make his second defense against Steve Claggett in the main event of a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card on June 29 (ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET) at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Top Rank announced, confirming a Fight Freaks Unite report last month.
Lopez (20-1, 13 KOs), 26, of Las Vegas, upset Josh Taylor by clear decision last June to win the 140-pound title and retained it by disputed decision against Jamaine Ortiz in a disappointing performance on Feb. 8 in Las Vegas.
“I have always wanted to fight in South Florida, where I grew up and developed as a fighter,” Lopez said. “I never thought it would happen, but now I get the opportunity to do so not just as a world champion but as the lineal world champion of my division. This has been one of my goals since turning pro, and I’m motivated to showcase my talent there in front of my Honduran fans and the entire Latino community.
“This is like a Rocky Balboa story for Steve Claggett. I’m very much looking forward to what kind of style I’m going to see. There were no other fighters who were interested in fighting me, and I felt like he would give not just me, but the fans as well, a great fight to watch."
Lopez, the former lineal and unified lightweight champion, was offered four potential opponents for the defense, a source with knowledge of the list told Fight Freaks Unite, and Team Lopez selected Claggett over Top Rank up-and-comer Raymond Muratalla, Kenneth Sims Jr. and Elvis Rodriguez.
Claggett (38-7-2, 26 KOs), 34, of Calgary, Canada, has won nine fights in a row since a 10-round split decision loss to Mathieu Germain in May 2021.
“I have worked my entire life for this opportunity, and I intend to make the most of it,” Claggett said. “I am more motivated than ever before, and I’m ready to give it everything I’ve got.”
Former WBO featherweight titlist Robeisy Ramirez (13-2, 8 KOs), 30, a southpaw and two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist based in South Florida, will face Brandon Leon Benitez in the 10-round co-feature.
If Ramirez wins and Mexico’s Rafael Espinoza (24-0, 20 KOs), who dramatically upset Ramirez to take the title by majority decision thanks to a 12th-round knockdown in December, wins his first defense against Sergio Chirino on June 21 in Las Vegas, Top Rank plans to put on Espinoza-Ramirez II in the fall.
“Last December, we put on an action-packed battle, a worthy fight of the year candidate. While the result was unexpected, we also proved to the boxing world just how amazing a Miami crowd can be,” Ramirez said. “On June 29, I will begin my quest to recapture my world title and return to the top, where I know I belong.”
Benitez (21-2, 9 KOs), 26, of Mexico, has won seven fights in a row and won a 10-round split decision against former titlist Xu Can in October 2022.
“I want Robeisy Ramirez to know that this is nothing new to me. I know what it’s like to go on enemy turf against a tough former world champion,” Benitez said. “Like I did with Can, I’m going to make it a tough night for Ramirez. I respect him as a fighter, but as soon as I get in the ring, I’m not going to stop throwing punches until my hand is raised.”
In the opener of the tripleheader, middleweight Nico Ali Walsh, Muhammad Ali’s grandson, will seek to avenge his only loss in a six-round rematch against Sona Akale. Ali Walsh (10-1, 5 KOs), 23, of Las Vegas, lost an upset majority six-round decision to Akale (9-1, 4 KOs), 36, of St. Paul, Minnesota, last August and has won two fights since.
On the ESPN+ portion of the preliminaries:
Junior welterweight Rohan Polanco (12-0, 7 KOs), 25, a 2020 Olympian from the Dominican Republic, will face Luis Hernandez (23-4, 20 KOs), 27, of Mexico, in an eight-rounder.
Middleweight Euri Cedeno (8-0-1, 7 KOs), 24, Polanco’s Olympic teammate, will face fellow southpaw Dormedes Potes (14-6-1, 10 KOs), 31, of Colombia, in an eight-rounder.
Yan Santana (11-0, 11 KOs), 24, of the Dominican Republic, will face Brandon Valdes (15-4, 7 KOs) 25, in a 10-rounder.
Heavyweight Lorenzo Medina (10-0, 9 KOs), 19, of Hollywood, Florida, will face Colby Madison (11-7-2, 7 KOs), 41, of Baltimore, in a six-rounder.
Middleweight Bryan Polaco (6-0, 4 KOs), 26, a Puerto Rican southpaw, meets Richard Acevedo (6-0-1, 5 KOs), 26, of Oxnard, California, in a six-rounder.
Elvis Rodriguez back with TR
Junior welterweight contender Elvis Rodriguez, who has parted ways with Premier Boxing Champions, re-signed with Top Rank, the company announced on Wednesday.
Rodriguez (15-1-1, 13 KOs), 28, a southpaw from the Dominican Republic, will have his first fight of the new long-term deal against an opponent to be determined on undercard of junior welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez’s defense against Steve Claggett on June 29 in Miami in the ESPN+ portion of preliminary bouts.
“It truly feels great to be back home,” said Rodriguez, who is trained by Hall of Famer Freddie Roach. “I have always felt like a Top Rank fighter. Top Rank made me a star, and they will make me a champion. I am looking forward to June 29. Elvis will finally be back in the building! It’s been a long layoff, the longest of my career, but I am 100 percent focused on June 29.”
Top Rank initially guided “The Dominican Kid” as a prospect from 2019 to 2021. His re-signing with Top Rank comes three years to the day of when he suffered his only loss, an eight-round majority decision to Kenneth Sims Jr., also now a contender, on the undercard of the Josh Taylor-Jose Ramirez undisputed junior welterweight title fight in Las Vegas. Soon after that fight, Top Rank released him.
Rodriguez has won four fights in a row since, including a seventh-round knockout of former 140-pound titlist Viktor Postol in his last fight in July.
“Elvis Rodriguez is a supreme talent, and we are thrilled that he’s decided to re-join the Top Rank family,” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said. “There are many great fights for Elvis at 140 pounds, and if he fights up to his potential, he will be a world champion one day.”
Said Benny Lieblein, Rodriguez’s manager: “We are very excited and happy to be back with Top Rank. Elvis is such an exciting fighter, and he brings much-needed excitement to the sport. We are looking for an opportunity at the top guys in the division, and we believe Top Rank can get us those fights. All these guys have been choosing the path of least resistance. With Top Rank keeping him active and using their promotional power, they won’t be able to avoid us much longer.”
Tank-Frank undercard
Premier Boxing Champions has finalized the pay-per-view undercard of Gervonta Davis’ WBC lightweight title defense against Frank Martin on June 15 (PBC on Prime PPV, PPV.com, 8 p.m. ET) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, where the card will be celebrated as the 100th boxing event to take place in the hallowed venue.
Besides the main event and the previously announced co-feature between David Benavidez and Oleksandr Gvozdyk for the vacant WBC interim light heavyweight title, PBC announced two additional bouts that will be on the PPV, confirming previous Fight Freaks Unite reports:
Junior welterweight contender Gary Antuanne Russell against former WBA titlist Alberto Puello for the vacant WBC interim title.
WBC middleweight titleholder Carlos Adames defending against Terrell Gausha.
Russell (17-0, 17 KOs), 27, a 2016 U.S. Olympian from Capitol Heights, Maryland and younger brother of former WBC featherweight titlist Gary Russell Jr., will end a 13-month layoff since a first-round knockout of Kent Cruz last August in Russell’s lone bout of 2023.
“Being at the top is only meant for one person, but the journey is always meant to have an audience,” Russell said. “Make sure you watch this because everyone knows what I bring when fight night comes.”
Puello (22-0, 10 KOs), 29, a southpaw from the Dominican Republic, was set to make his first defense against Rolando Romero in May 2023 but tested positive for clomiphene in a random Voluntary Anti-Doping Association test a month before the fight. He was dropped from the bout, stripped of the title and suspended for six months. He returned in December for an eight-round decision win over unbeaten Ector Maderna and is anxious to get back on track.
“I’ve been waiting patiently for a fight like this and now is the time to show the world that I’m worthy of the opportunity,” Puello said. “Gary Antuanne Russell is exactly the type of opponent I want right now, because I know what a victory will do for my career. There’s a belt on the line and I’m coming to win it by any means necessary.”
Adames (23-1, 18 KOs), 30, of the Dominican Republic, recently was elevated to full middleweight titlist from interim titleholder when Jermall Charlo was stripped and will make his first defense against former junior middleweight title challenger Gausha.
Adames is coming off his only interim defense, a ninth-round knockout of former unified junior middleweight champion Julian Williams last June.
“Gausha has a lot of experience fighting at the top level in the pros and in the amateurs. I know this is a tough fight and that makes me focus even more in training,” Adames said. “Right now my mind is right, my body feels great and I’m going to be able to put on a spectacular performance for everybody watching on June 15. I’m going to defend my title with everything I’ve got.”
Gausha (24-3, 12 KOs), 36, a 2012 U.S. Olympian fighting out of Encino, California, moved up to middleweight for his last fight in September and won an eight-round majority decision over journeyman KeAndre Leatherwood.
“I’ve been training since way before this fight was signed and I’m feeling ready for the challenge,” Gausha said. “Adames is a good fighter, but so am I. I’m confident that I’m gonna come out on top. My experience and my skill set are gonna be huge factors that help me get this victory.”
Fisher to battle Babic
British heavyweight Johnny Fisher will take on Croatian brawler “The Savage” Alen Babic in a 10-rounder in his first main event when they top a “NXT Gen” prospect card on July 6 (DAZN) at Copper Box Arena in London, Matchroom Boxing announced.
Fisher (11-0, 10 KOs), 25, who has a significant fan base, returns to England after making his United States debut in a first-round knockout of Dmytro Bezus on Feb. 3 on the Conor Benn-Peter Dobson undercard in Las Vegas.
“I have no words other than I am locked in and ready for the hardest fight of my life,” said Fisher, who was selected as the 2023 Best Young Boxer of the Year by the U.K.’s Boxing Writers Club.
Babic (12-1, 11 KOs), 33, suffered his first loss via first-round knockout in a WBC bridgerweight title bout against Lukasz Rozanski in April 2023 and rebounded to win his only fight since, a sixth-round knockout of Steve Robinson on March 31.
“Johnny and his dad have definitely over-ordered this time in picking me for his next fight,” Babic said. “I am going to enjoy teaching this boy some very ‘Savage’ lessons. I look forward to the fight but no university education can give Johnny the appetite for what's coming his way.”
Another ‘Magnificent Seven’
Queensberry Promotions’ Frank Warren is putting another in his line of “Magnificent Seven” cards, announcing his next one for July 20 (TNT Sports in U.K.) at Resorts Word Arena in Birmingham, England.
Topping the card that will feature a variety of fringe world as well as regional title bouts will be Liam Davies (16-0, 8 KOs), 28, against British countryman Shabaz Madous (12-0, 4 KOs), 28, in a 12-rounder.
British middleweight champion Nathan Heaney (18-0-1, 6 KOs), 35, will take on Brad Pauls (18-1-1, 10 KOs), 31, in a rematch of their split draw on March 16.
The card will also include the Queensberry debut of former undisputed women’s junior welterweight champion Chantelle Cameron (18-1, 8 KOs), 33, who recently split from Matchroom Boxing and immediately singed with Queensberry. She will face an opponent to be determined for the vacant WBC interim 140-pound title.
In another bout, heavyweight Sol Dacres (8-0, 2 KOs), 30, will face fellow Brit David Adeleye (12-1, 11 KOs), 27, who is looking to rebound from a seventh-round KO to Fabio Wardley in October on the Tyson Fury-Francis Ngannou undercard in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“The depth and quality of this fight card in Birmingham is unrivaled in this country,” Warren said. “The ‘Magnificent Seven’ concept is proving hugely popular and getting stronger each time.”
Quick hits
WBC cruiserweight titlist Noel Mikaelian (27-2, 12 KOs), 33, an Armenia native fighting out of Miami, suffered a cut above his right eyelid in sparring and has been forced to postpone his first defense against mandatory challenger Ryan Rozicki (20-1, 19 KOs), 29, a Canadian southpaw, promoter Don King announced. They were set to fight on the Adrien Broner-Blair Cobbs undercard on June 7 (TrillerTV PPV) at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Mikaelian won the vacant title via third-round KO of former titlist Ilunga Makabu in November.
If super middleweight contender Christian Mbilli (26-0, 22 KOs), 28, a 2016 Olympian for France, who recently signed a co-promotional contract with Top Rank to help guide his career with Eye of the Tiger, defeats Mark Heffron (30-3-1, 24 KOs), 32, of England, in a 10-rounder Saturday (ESPN+) and comes away injury free in Shawinigan, Canada, he will face Sergiy Derevyanchenko on Aug. 17 (ESPN+) in Quebec City, Canada, sources told Fight Freaks Unite. Derevyanchenko (15-5, 10 KOs), 38, a Ukraine native fighting out of Brooklyn, New York, who is a three-time middleweight title challenger, is coming off a shutout 10-round decision over Vaughn Alexander on April 20. It was Derevyanchenko’s first fight since a 12-round decision loss to Jaime Munguia in their savage 2023 BWAA fight of the year.
The WBC announced that Julio Cesar Martinez (21-3, 15 KOs), 29, of Mexico, has vacated its flyweight world title and plans to move up to junior bantamweight. Martinez, who won the vacant belt in December 2019, made seven defenses, most recently via majority decision in a slugfest with Angelino Cordova on March 30 on the Tim Tszyu-Sebastian Fundora undercard in Las Vegas. “After careful reflection, I vacated the flyweight title to pursue new opportunities (at junior bantamweight),” Martinez said in a statement. “This step will allow me to continue growing as a boxer and face new challenges. I am very grateful to the WBC for their support throughout my career.”
The return of former WBA junior bantamweight titlist Joshua Franco from a one-year retirement is on hold as he has withdrawn from his comeback bout against Geraldo Valdez, which was scheduled for the undercard of Lamont Roach Jr.’s first WBA junior lightweight title defense against Feargal McCrory on June 28 (ProBox TV) in Roach’s hometown of Washington, D.C. Franco (18-2-3, 8 KOs), 28, of San Antonio, does still plan to return but later in the summer.
Neeraj Goyat (18-4-2, 8 KOs), 32, of India, who is the first international signing by Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions and has been calling Paul out, will face Whindersson Nunes, 29, a Brazilian YouTuber and social media influencer, who is either 0-1 or 2-2-1 with 1 KO as a pro boxer depending on the source, in a six-round super middleweight bout at a165 pounds on the Mike Tyson-Paul undercard on July 20 (Netflix) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, MVP announced. “With millions of fans back home in India watching my every move, I’m not just fighting for myself. I'm fighting to make history and make my country proud,” Goyat said.
Light heavyweight contender Lyndon Arthur (23-2, 16 KOs), 32, will fight for the first time since losing a shutout decision challenging WBA titlist Dmitry Bivol on Dec. 23 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Arthur will face British countryman Liam Cameron (23-5, 10 KOs), 33, on June 21 (DAZN in U.S., Channel 5 in U.K.) in Bolton, England, Wasserman Boxing announced. “I’m ready to start getting back into the title picture,” Arthur said. “Cameron is hungry for this, and coming to ruin my plans, but I simply won’t allow him to restart his career with a win over me. It’s just not happening.”
IBF strawweight titlist Ginjiro Shigeoka (11-0, 9 KOs), 24, of Japan, will make his second defense against former titlist and mandatory challenger Pedro Taduran (16-4-1, 12 KOs), 27, a fellow southpaw from the Philippines, on July 28 in Otsu, Japan, Viva Promotions announced. Taduran earned the mandatory position in his last fight, a decision against Jake Amparo on Dec. 28. Shigeoka made his first defense via second-round KO of Amparo on March 31.
Matchroom Boxing has rescheduled its revival of the “Prizefighter” eight-man tournaments that ran in the United Kingdom from 2008 to 2015 and was set to return with the quarterfinals of a middleweight tournament in Japan in March. It was postponed but now rescheduled for July 15 (DAZN) at Yamato Arena in Osaka. The 10-round matchups: Japanese champion Riku Kunimoto (10-1, 4 KOs) versus Eiki Kani (8-3-3, 4 KOs) in a rematch of Kunimoto’s sixth-round KO to retain the title in March; England’s Mark Dickinson (6-0, 2 KOs) versus Japan’s Kuzuto Takesako (16-2-1, 15 KOs); England’s Kieron Conway (20-3-1, 5 KOs) against China’s Ainiwaer Yilixiati (19-1, 14 KOs); and Puerto Rico’s Jeovanny Estela (14-0, 5 KOs) against Ireland’s Aaron McKenna (18-0, 9 KOs). The tournament winner will earn $1 million. Besides purses, there will also be bonuses of at least $100,000 for KOs.
Golden Boy announced Wednesday that it has signed junior lightweight prospect Joshua Garcia (8-0, 4 KOs), 21, of Moreno Valley, California, a pro since 2021, who has had his past three bouts on Golden Boy cards but without a promotional contract. “Garcia is a top-flight prospect with tremendous skills and has already shown at the age of 21 that he can overcome adversity — coming back from a knockdown to win his last fight,” Golden Boy chairman Oscar De La Hoya said. “‘El Americano joins a loaded roster of prospects at Golden Boy Promotions, and we look forward to helping him progress up the ranks.”
Weights from Detroit for the Salita Promotions “Big Time Boxing USA” card on Thursday (DAZN, 8 p.m. ET): Jermaine Franklin 254 pounds, Devin Vargas 235.2; Joshua James Pagan 135.4, Roger Hilley 135.4; Ali Akhmedov 171.6, Encarnacion Diaz 169.6; Josiah Shackleford 160.8, Ja’shar Banks 158.89.
Show and tell
Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins were both all-time great fighters and are enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Jones won world titles in four divisions (middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, heavyweight) and reigned for about a decade (from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s) as the untouchable pound-for-pound king. Hopkins made a record 20 consecutive middleweight title defense, won the light heavyweight title, was a regular near the top of the pound-for-pound list throughout the 2000s and set various age-related records as he fought effectively into his 50s. They were also fierce rivals who had their first significant fight against each other when they squared off for the vacant IBF middleweight title in an HBO opening bout at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. It was the co-feature of then-heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe’s mismatch/second-round destruction of Jesse Ferguson two bouts after he had taken the title from Evander Holyfield in their first bout.
Jones, who injured his right hand before the fight but did not want to pull out, relied virtually entirely on his left hand and won a clear unanimous decision in a dreadfully boring fight. They would both go on to greatness and a rematch was in heavy demand in the early 2000s. However, they constantly bickered over the weight (Jones was already at light heavyweight and Hopkins was still at middleweight) and the financial split, so a rematch didn’t happen until it was way too late. Hopkins easily outpointed the long-faded Jones by ugly decision in 2010 in a disastrous pay-per-view I covered at ringside in Las Vegas, where nobody seemed to give a damn. But the first fight, when they were young men on the way to stardom, took place on May 22, 1993 — 31 years ago on Wednesday. Here is a scarce site poster in my collection.
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Garcia-Haney photos: Sumio Yamada/WBC
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Just a miscellaneous boxing note: If you haven’t yet seen the co-feature from this week’s ProBox TV card, it’s worth checking out. Jonhatan Cardoso vs. Adam “Bluenose” Lopez. Watch the main event if you want to see a guy who’s fully washed and put away.
Garcia's "B-sample" has now returned positive. If the fight result is changed to NC or a DQ, what recourse do people who bet on Haney have?
PED use is so commonplace now, they should be made legal or the consequences for getting caught should be certain and severe - a DQ loss, full purse to the opponent, and a 10 year ban from boxing.