Boxing
ANTHONY JOSHUA THROWS PUNCHES AT BOXING AUTHORITIES
BY LIAM MORGAN
Doping will only be taken seriously in boxing if a major incident occurs and the problem is “out of control” in the sport, according to unified world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.
The Nigerian born Briton criticised organisations such as the World Boxing Association (WBA) for what he believes is their lack of action in tackling doping.
Joshua had been due to face Jarrell Miller for his International Boxing Federation, World Boxing Organisation and WBA heavyweight titles at Madison Square Garden on June 1.
But Joshua was forced to find another opponent after Miller tested positive for human growth hormone EPO and GW1516 in drugs tests conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association.
Andy Ruiz stepped in to take on Joshua instead.
Miller has since been banned for six months by the WBA for his actions, which would have triggered a much longer ban under World Anti-Doping Agency regulations.
Joshua is among those to have criticised the length of the suspension, which does not prevent him from fighting but means he is unable to compete for titles and means he could be excluded from the WBA rankings.
The 29-year-old said the
ban was not enough of a deterrent, with five of the top-10 ranked heavyweights
having served doping suspensions.
“These are top guys,” Joshua said.
“How are they getting to the top?
“When you look down the list at everyone who has had it, how have they got to the top?
“It’s out of control but it is not taken so seriously by those in charge.
“Like racism in football, that’s happening but [is] not taken so seriously.
“Fury had his issues as well. He’s fighting again and it’s forgotten about.
“Maybe it will take something serious to happen.
“A death? I don’t know but something serious.”
Joshua’s last opponent, Russian Alexander Povetkin, twice tested positive in 2016 and a lifetime ban was later reduced to a year.
The Briton, who won super-heavyweight gold at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, said boxing authorities should consider introducing stricter punishments for doping.
“Rather than it being guys sitting down at the WBA and saying, ‘what shall we give him? Let’s say six months’, it would be better to know if whatever he was on, that is, say, a lifetime ban,” he said.
“Now the next person who uses human growth hormone thinks it’s a six-month ban.
“I haven’t fought in nine months. I could have taken human growth hormone after [the] Povetkin
[fight]
, got caught, taken six months out and still fight in June.
“It doesn’t put fear into fighters.”
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U.S. immigration authorities have arrested Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in Los Angeles and plan to deport him, they said on Thursday, just days after he lost a high-profile bout to American rival Jake Paul.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Chavez was determined to be in the country illegally last week after he made fraudulent statements on a 2024 application for permanent residence. He is married to a U.S. citizen, it said.
Michael Goldstein, a lawyer for Chavez, said more than two dozen immigration agents arrested the boxer at his home in the Studio City area of Los Angeles on Wednesday.
“The current allegations are outrageous and appear to be designed as a headline to terrorize the community,” Goldstein said.
Homeland Security said that the 39-year-old boxer, son of Mexican world champion fighter Julio Cesar Chavez, is suspected of ties to Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, which Washington has designated a foreign terrorist organization.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. speaks at press conference in anticipation of his fight against Jake Paul at Avalon Hollywood Theater. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images/File Photo
His wife, Frida Munoz Chavez, was previously married to the son of former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison. The son, Edgar, was assassinated in 2008.
Chavez is the target of a Mexican arrest warrant on allegations of involvement in organized crime and firearms trafficking, DHS said.
In Mexico, Chavez’ family said in a statement they “fully trust in his innocence.”
Chavez lost to influencer-turned-boxer Paul, 28, last weekend before a sold-out crowd in Anaheim, California, in a unanimous decision after 10 rounds.
He was allowed to enter the United States temporarily in early January under former President Joe Biden, DHS said. He had previously overstayed a tourist visa, it said.
The agency said Chavez was convicted in Los Angeles in 2024 on weapons charges. Goldstein denied he was convicted, saying he pleaded not guilty and was granted mental health diversion which will result in dismissal of the charges.
Chavez won the WBC middleweight championship in 2011, but lost the title the next year.
His career has been overshadowed by controversies including a suspension after testing positive for a banned substance in 2009 and a fine and suspension after testing positive for marijuana in 2013.
His record stands at 54 wins, six losses and one draw, with 34 knockouts.
Reporting by Brendan O’Brien and Bhargav Acharya, Lizbeth Diaz, Angelica Medina, Diego Ore and Kylie Madry in Mexico City, Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bill Berkrot
-Reuters
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Manny Pacquiao will come out of retirement to face Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight championship on July 19 in Las Vegas, the 46-year-old Filipino boxer said on Wednesday.
Pacquiao is the only boxer to win world championships in a record eight weight divisions while he was also the oldest welterweight world champion in history at the age of 40 in 2019.
A Filipino senator from 2016 to 2022, Pacquiao had retired from boxing in 2021 while he also ran for president in 2022.
“I’m back. On July 19, I return to the ring to face WBC Welterweight Champion Mario Barrios at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Let’s make history,” Pacquiao wrote on Instagram.
The southpaw, who has 62 wins, eight losses and two draws in a 72-fight career, was also elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2025.
Barrios, a Mexican-American boxer, has 29 wins in 32 bouts, winning 18 by knockout and losing twice.
-Reuters
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The body of Segun Olanrewaju, the Nigerian boxer who slumped and died in the ring in Ghana on Saturday is still in a mortuary in Ghana. The President of the Nigerian Boxing Board of Control (NBB of C), Dr Rafiu Oladipo, informed Sports Village Square that an autopsy will be conducted on Wednesday.
He said that the NBB of C is closely monitoring the events in Ghana, even as the Director General of the National Sports Commission, Bukola Olopade has asked for updates on the sad incident.
On Monday, a delegation of the NBB of C visited the family of the late boxer in Sango Otta in Ogun State. Oladipo said he was still in shock at the death of the boxer who he considered fit having fought last December 29.
He revealed that one of the members of the Nigerian delegation to Ghana stayed behind to follow up on the autopsy.
He narrated that the late boxer took part on Thursday in the mandatory weigh-in which is normally conducted 24 hours before a fight. Additionally, a medical check-up is also to be conducted.
“But in this instance, there was no medical check. On this ground, Oladipo blamed the Ghana Boxing Authority.
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