Tarver Tests Positive

[Romulus9]

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Quote:BoxingScene.com/CSNBayArea.com confirmed information received Thursday afternoon that Antonio Tarver has tested positive for a banned substance following a postfight drug test administered by the California State Athletic Commission after his split draw with Lateef Kayode on June 2.

Steven Feder, Kayode?s manager, and CSAC chief inspector Che Guevara spoke about the matter on Friday morning.

?I?m aware of the situation, and I?m going to meet with Lateef this afternoon, and once I do we?ll come out with an official comment,? said Feder. ?We?re just very surprised that someone of his stature would even take a risk and even do this. Neither one of us ever thought that someone at this level would ever do this.?

The issue of performance enhancing drugs has engulfed the boxing world in recent months.

Unified junior welterweight champion Lamont Peterson and former welterweight titleholder Andre Berto both failed tests administered by VADA, and had their respective bouts with Amir Khan and Victor Ortiz fall apart.

Random drug testing of blood and urine was initially a point of contention in preventing the biggest fight of this era from happening between archrivals Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

Both sides have debated on whether random drug testing should be administered by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) or the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). They have also disagreed on a cutoff date for testing before the actual fight.

With the spotlight now on a respected figure like Tarver?who must still be allowed his chance to be heard?this issue must come to the forefront of problems plaguing the sport. Rolando Arellano, manager of Ortiz, eloquently described the situation in an interview with The Ring?s Lem Satterfield.

?If you are reluctant to hire someone or something that's going to improve your sport and protect the safety of the fighter, then that's a problem,? Arellano said. ?That's not what this is supposed to be about. The fighters are the essence of the sport. Without them, there's no managers, no promoters and no boxing content.

?So as a sport, we need to take care of the people who provide paychecks for all of us. If you're not looking out for the fighter, I mean, if that's the case, then that means that you're condoning potentially illegal substances for the purpose of the almighty dollar.?

A likely future Hall of Famer, the 43-year-old Tarver (29-6-1, 20 KOs), a current commentator for Showtime, discussed the recent controversy surrounding Julio Cesar Chavez? prefight and postfight drug tests last week under the auspices of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations on his Twitter account Thursday afternoon.

Tarver tweeted verbatim, ?i've been through the drills of the dreaded drug testing, you'll have a better chance of eluding the FBI then some commisions [sic].?

Regarding Chavez, last week?s incident is not his first regarding drug testing. In 2009, he tested positive for using a diuretic, and in a much-publicized incident in February, the Texas commission inexplicably forgot to book a testing laboratory to collect samples from him following his WBC 160-pound title fight against Marco Antonio Rubio.

?It wasn?t your fault. It wasn?t the WBC?s fault,? Texas commission head Dickie Cole told Sulaiman in a video recorded by Rubio?s manager Julio Gudino III . ?It wasn?t the fighters fault. It wasn?t nobody?s fault. I am going to blame Dickie for not having the dope people here.?

Ironically enough, the co-featured bout to Tarver-Kayode between middleweights Peter Quillin and Winky Wright was slated to have drug testing overseen by the United States Anti-Doping Agency?only for USADA to both call the agreement off mere days before the fight and destroy the collected samples .

Such programs administered by organizations like USADA and the recently established Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) go beyond the minimum standard of testing required by state commissions, the latter option of which was selected by Tarver and Kayode.

Peterson and Berto, however, pushed for VADA testing. In Peterson?s instance, the use of synthetic testosterone was detected ; the fighter maintains his innocence, arguing that his physician prescribed it. In Berto?s case, trace amounts of nandrolone were found in his test results, something that has called into question whether he intentionally consumed the banned substance or if contamination was involved.

Nevertheless, VADA has been embraced by junior featherweight titleholder Nonito Donaire and his nutritionist Victor Conte, the BALCO founder turned anti-doping consultant.

The pair announced last week on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area that starting the day after Donaire?s July 7 unification bout against Jeffrey Mathebula, the fighter will make history by enrolling in a VADA-run program that will randomly test him year-round.

?It doesn?t matter what time, day, [or] location,? Donaire said. ?I?m here, I?m fair, and I know I?m a clean fighter, and I think it?s good for boxing. It?s good for the whole sport that an athlete presents himself in an honest way, and not only that, but it gives credibility to my work with Victor.?

Mayweather was the first fighter to agree to random testing, but under the USADA banner for the weeks leading up to his bouts with Shane Mosley in May of 2010, Victor Ortiz last September, and Miguel Cotto in May.

?Whether Nonito has a fight or doesn't have a fight, he wants to go above and beyond anything Floyd Mayweather has done as far as drug testing goes,? Conte said. ?This is going to be true Olympic-style 365/24/7 drug testing.?

Tarver made worldwide headlines for his shocking second-round knockout of then-pound-for-pound king Roy Jones Jr. in a 2004 rematch for supremacy at 175 pounds. Tarver also earned mainstream attention for his role as Mason ?The Line? Dixon in the film Rocky Balboa.

With a bronze medal from the 1996 Olympic Games and wins in the pros over several former or current light heavyweight titleholders like Montell Griffin, Glen Johnson, and Clinton Woods, Tarver sought a move up in weight in 2010.

One year later, the southpaw from Orlando, Fla., captured a fringe title at cruiserweight over Danny Green before drawing with Kayode at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., three weeks ago.

[Dickagon]

the milk dud is at it again

[boxingcritic]

What a D-bag man.

[Method]

Hahahahahahaahaha. He looked like TOTAL ass. The WORST physical shape I've ever seen. I havent read the article, but this looks like the byproduct of something trace in something else he might have been taking.

[salvador]

I'm coming to believe that most top athletes juice and have for decades. Name the boxer, linebacker, power forward, whatever and if he's way better than everyone else in his sport, he's probably on roids - whether they are detectable or not. There are just too many examples and too much money for winners and therefore for chemists to pass on finding ways to avoid tests.

If it's true with Tarver, then that's particularly stupid given that he probably makes more commentating than fighting - certainly he would over the next 10 years. And I love Tarver as a commentator. But if it's true, Showtime has to ditch him.

If Tarver is ditched, the only two commentators that I would find acceptable would be Tyson or Hopkins.

[JONdaCON]

Lmao at Bubba Gump... How you take Roids, still be fat flabby and sloppy, and get beat up?!... Worse steroids ever.

[salvador]

It'll be interesting to see if he shows up to the Ortiz fight tomorrow, which he is apparently supposed to call.

It's almost like Clinton going to give the State of the Union speech the day after everyone found out about Monica Lewenski's stained dress. High human drama!

I'll give Tarver a lot of credit if he shows up either way.

[boxingcritic]

Tarver won't work Saturday's Showtime broadcast after positive drug test

http://ringtv.craveonline.com/blog/173511-tarver-

Quote:Former light heavyweight titleholder Antonio Tarver will not work as a boxing broadcaster for Saturday night's Showtime-televised main event between ex-welterweight titleholder Victor Ortiz and Josesito Lopez at the Staples Center in Los Angeles in the wake of his tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid drostanolone, the network announced on Friday.

A regular Showtime commentator, Tarver came up dirty following a post-fight drug test administered by the California State Athletic Commission after his draw with Lateef Kayode on June 2 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

"We were made aware of the California State Athletic Commission's report regarding Antonio Tarver's positive drug test following his last fight on June 2 this afternoon," wrote Showtime Sports publicist Chris DeBlasio in a statement e-mailed to RingTV.com.

"Out of respect for the fighters competing on Saturday night, Antonio and the network have mutually agreed that he will not serve as color analyst for the June 23rd boxing telecast."

George Dodd, the CSAC's executive director, told RingTV.com that Tarver has been suspended for his infraction and fined 2,500 of the $1.1 million purse he earned for facing Kayode. Dodd also said that Tarver-Kayode will soon be "reflected as a no-decision."

"I have always been a proponent of a clean sport and an advocate for the most rigorous drug testing in boxing," said Tarver, in an e-mailed prepared statement through his publicist, Norman Horton.

"The positive test results came as a complete surprise to me today. I will be examining every potential cause and ultimately, I am confident that my fans will see that I was not at anytime attempting to gain an unfair or illegal advantage in my performance."

Tarver had indicated during an earlier response that he planned to appeal the CSAC's decision.

"Today's news of a false positive caught me as well as my family and supporters by surprise, I apologize for the embarrassment it caused," wrote Tarver on his Twitter account.

"I'll appeal and submit to the California Commission everything that I've consume prior to June 2 that could of caused this honest mistake."

Tarver's promoter, Gary Shaw, also issued a statement.

"It's very worrisome where our sport is heading these days with the recent array of fighters testing positive for banned substances. With all these fights being canceled its killing the sport and I hope the networks are not going to lose interest. As promoters, we do our best to make sure everyone is abiding by the rules," stated Shaw.

"I'm happy that the commissions are stepping up their stance on catching fighters cheating, because the safety of the fighter should always come first. It's unfortunate that in Lateef Kayode's first major opportunity, he had to fight on what appears to be an unlevel playing field. I have a lot of respect for Antonio Tarver and would be very disappointed to find out that he knowingly took performance enhancing drugs."

Dodd identified the banned substance as drostanolone, adding that Tarver's "A sample came back positive."

"Mr. Tarver has the opportunity to appeal the suspension as well as the fine," said Dodd, "and he also has the opportunity to witness the opening and viewing of the B sample if he wishes it to be tested."

If Tarver's B sample returns negative, the commission will "then make a determination" concerning whether or not his penalty stands, pending an appeal by Tarver, Dodd said.

"It is my hope that Tarver requests that the B sample will be tested and will show that Tarver was clean. However, if the sample comes back dirty, then the commission should take appropriate action," stated Shaw.

"It was a very close fight, as it was ruled a split- draw, but now that we have been informed by the California State Athletic Commission about the alleged drug use, I'll have to talk to Lateef and his management team to see what we'll do to resolve this matter."

[blackbelt2003]

Well, there's an advert for not using steroids ever again.



Black

[lloyd mayflower]

*lloyd mayflower bides his time, patiently waiting for the reaction of king eugene