By Sean Jones: WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders says Saul Canelo Alvarez is nothing more than a “drug cheat” that has been using “jungle juice” following his positive test for the banned drug clenbuterol.
Canelo, 27, tested positive on two dates last month for clenbuterol on February 17 and February 20. A press release was sent out by Canelo’s promoters at Golden Boy Promotions this week, stating that the drug levels of the clenbuterol were at such a low level that it would indicate that it was caused by meat contamination.
Saunders doesn’t believe Mexican star Canelo’s positive test for clenbuterol was from him eating tainted meat in Mexico. Saunders believes Canelo intentionally was taking the drug, and he now wants to be the one that Golovkin faces next.
“Canelo, you’re a drug cheat. Can’t bulk like that @gggboxing. Let’s fight. Golden Boy Boxing @Canelo, you been mad jabbing jungle juice. Canelo, you cheating red-headed [expletive]. @GGG, let’s go champion,” Saunders said.
Saunders is being honest with his opinions about Canelo. The problem that Canelo has is the contaminated meat excuse has been used a lot in the past, and it seems to be a convenient excuse for someone to get out of a positive test. If all fighters can say they ate contaminated meat and be allowed to squirm out of being penalized for the positive test, then they need to ignore positive tests for clenbuterol in the future. What’s the point in testing for clenbuterol if fighters can say they ate tainted meat and be given a free pass?
It would be great if Canelo still had the tainted meat in his freezer in Mexico. That would help. Of course, how would they prove when Canelo purchased the meat? It would be impossible to prove. The Nevada State Athletic Commission is in the position where they have to take Canelo’s word for him having eaten contaminated meat, because there’s no way of improving that he didn’t eat it. If clenbuterol shows up in a fighter’s hair when they’ve been using it for a long period of time, then that might be one way to identify that Canelo has been using it for performance enhancing purposes. But even if the drug were to be found in a hair sample from Canelo, he can say he’s been eating the tainted meat for months.
The Nevada Commission would be in the same position they’re in now of having to believe Canelo. That’s what makes testing for clenbuterol so pointless. If a fighter can say they tested positive by eating tainted meat, how can it be proven that they didn’t? They don’t use lie detector tests for things like that. That probably be the best way to discover whether Canelo is telling the truth or not, but that’s not going to happen.
Canelo gave a statement on Monday on his positive test below:
“I am an athlete who respects the sport and this surprises me and bothers me because it had never happened to me. I will submit to all the tests that require me to clarify this embarrassing situation and I trust that at the end the truth will prevail.”
It’s unclear how Canelo will prove that the “truth will prevail.” I guess the truth Canelo is talking about is the excuse of him eating tainted meat in Mexico. That’s an excuse that can’t be proved. It’s like kid saying, ‘The dog ate my homework.” You do you prove that the dog didn’t eat the kid’s homework? You can’t. In the case, the teacher would still give the kid an ‘F’ for failing to do his homework. They wouldn’t give the kid a free pass.
As a professional athlete living in Mexico, Canelo should know after all these years that there’s a possibility of him testing positive for a banned drug by him eating meat in the country. That responsibility falls on Canelo to make sure he has access to meat that isn’t potentially dirty with clenbuterol. This positive test for Canelo didn’t come outside of training camp. This positive test came during his training camp for the Golovkin rematch, and that makes it look bad. Clenbuterol is a drug that helps burn fat as well as improves the cardio for a fighter. Is this some Is this something that would help Canelo against Golovkin? You judge for yourself.
Max Kellerman and Stephen A. Smith of ESPN feel that Canelo didn’t purposefully take clenbuterol. They believe it’s from him eating meat in Mexico.
“A lot of fighters don’t have the resources that a lot of American athletes have to have an investigator check where their meat is coming from,” Kellerman said to ESPN. “The problem is if the clenbuterol levels are through the roof, then there’s no way this is coming from meat. That’s one thing, but if it’s a trace amount that helps you burn fat and it’s in Mexico, and we know the meat is contaminated,” Kellerman said.
“That is not enough to stop the fight,” said Stephen A. Smith of ESPN in remarking that Canelo’s positive test for clenbuterol shouldn’t stop the Canelo-GGG 2 fight from going ahead on May 5th. “Let’s find a way to quash this story-line, and get rid of it. Max don’t need to say it. I’ll say it. I don’t give a damn. You better believe it’s [Canelo vs. Golovkin rematch] is going to be on. It better be on,” Smith said.
Smith says Canelo’s positive drug test isn’t enough to stop the GGG fight. What would be enough to stop it? If Canelo keeps testing positive for banned drugs, would that be enough to stop the fight?
”You know what’s messed up about this with Canelo’s reputation now,” Kellerman said. ”This dude was a teenager fighting grown men in their prime. He comes to the States, he’s the money guy. He doesn’t to take on all he toughest fights. He takes fights against guys like Austin Trout, Erislandy Lara. These are tough guys. He fights Triple G and agrees to VADA testing, which catches cheats and now his name is being dragged through the mud, even though there is plausible deniability,” Kellerman said.
”You can call it dragging through the mud all you want,” Smith said about Canelo’s reputation now in tatters due to his positive drug test. ”There’s nothing to this. I love Canelo. He’s alright with me. This is a small issue. Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy will handle this. There will be a fight on Cinco de Mayo. Canelo vs. Triple G gets stopped because of bad meat. Who cares about that? I eat bad meat all the time. Who cares? Let it go,” Smith said.
Smith REALLY wants the Canelo-Golovkin 2 rematch to take place, as do a lot of boxing fans. But the fans want to make sure that both fighters are clean. They want it to be a fight conducted on an even playing field. That’s why the Nevada State Athletic Commission needs to do an exhaustive investigation to make sure that this wasn’t a case of Canelo using clenbuterol on purpose to try and get an edge against Golovkin.
”Do you believe there’s wrongdoing here,” Kellerman asks Stephen A. Smith. ”Neither do I,” Kellerman said after he was told by Smith that he doesn’t see Canelo having done anything wrong by testing positive for a banned drug.
It’s nice that Kellerman and Smith think Canelo is innocement. That doesn’t mean anything through. They’re not the ones that are going to be getting hit by him on May 5th. Golovkin is, and he’s obviously going to want to make sure that Canelo is clean of drugs during the fight and in the buildup. Just becaue Smith and Kellerman are saying Canelo isn’t guilty doesn’t mean that it’s so. The Nevada Commission needs to investigate, and VADA will need to make sure they test Canelo to make sure he doesn’t continue to test positive for this drug all the way up to the night of the fight. It’s unclear how long clenuterol stays inside a person’s body after they ate tainted meat. If Canelo is still testing positive for clenbuterol days before the Golovkin fight, they’re going to need to make a determination whether the fight should take place. How would Canelo continue to be testing positive for clenbuterol if he’s no longer eating the Mexican meat?
”Canelo is a warrior. He’s not scared of anything. I don’t believe he’s a cheater,” Smith said.
As you can see, Kellerman and Smith believe Canelo to be innocent in terms of his positive test. They’re speculating that Canelo ate tainted meat. They don’t know that, but they’re willing to give him a free pass anyway. It would be interesting to see what Kellerman and Smith would say if another fighter like Daniel Jacobs tested positive for clenbuterol and used the same tainted meat excuse. Would they give him a free pass too or would they say he should be suspended?
Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Bob Bennett told the latimes.com that it’s “premature” to make a judgment on Canelo’s positive test for clenbuterol. “We have received the adverse analytical finding from Mr. Alvarez and per our standards will be conducting a full investigation,” Bennett said.