By Dan Ambrose: Paulie Malignaggi believes Saul Canelo Alvarez knowingly used clenbuterol to prepare for his May 5th rematch with Gennady Golovkin, and he thinks he should be given a 6-month suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and tested strictly the whole time.
Malignaggi thinks it would be a mistake for the Commission to allow Canelo to face Golovkin on the 5th of May, because even though he’s testing negative for clenbuterol in the VADA administered tests, he would still be benefiting from it from before. Malignaggi thinks Canelo needs to clean the substance from his system for the next 6 months and tested rigorously by the Commission to make sure he’s clean when he eventually faces Golovkin in their rematch.
Malignaggi wants drug test 365 days a year, but he doubts that will happen until the promoters and the networks push for it.
“I think they should probably suspend that fight for six months, and strictly drug test Canelo the whole time,” Malignaggi to IFL TV. “Even if he’s passing a drug test now, he’ll still pass clean but he’s getting the benefits of the steroids and PEDs that he was taking. If you delay the fight for six or seven months and make it in December, and strictly drug test the whole time…That way you let the stuff clear his system and maybe get less benefit from it and then you can have a fight. I didn’t see a problem with that. But if you’re going to put up these suspensions just to save face, because that’s all this is to me,” Malignaggi said.
It’s believes by some that the Nevada Commission will suspend the 27-year-old Canelo initially for 1 year in their next meeting on April 18, and then reduce the suspension by 50%, which they’re allowed to do. So instead of Canelo being inactive 12 months, he’ll wind up with a short 6-month suspension, which means he only missed out on his May 5th fight. Canelo can come back and fight Golovkin in September. But the thing that’s important to Malignaggi is for Canelo to be tested frequently during his entire 6-month suspension. It’s no good if Canelo is only tested 8 weeks before his fight and not the entire six months.
”If they fight on May 5th, then the whole [temporary] suspension was to save face, because of Golovkin gets hurt or killed in the fight, you’re obviously got the government will be looking at you. ‘This guy failed a test and you let him fight. You still let him fight?’ People go to jail for that, let alone get sued. I think this is a saving face type of suspension. I don’t think they can let him fight at this point,” Malignaggi said.
Malignaggi brings up a good point. If the Nevada Commission only gives Canelo a 3-week temporary suspension and clears him to fight on May 5 in their full hearing on April 18, then if Golovkin gets injured or killed in that fight, then the Commission is going to be raked over the coals. You can argue that even a 6-month suspension could be a problem. If Golovkin gets hurt, some boxing fans will wonder if Canelo was still benefitting from the banned substance. Malignaggi is fine with a 6-month suspension for Canelo. We’ll have to see if the Commission chooses to go that route with Canelo, and only give him 6 months instead of a full 1-year suspension.
“F—k no, I don’t believe it,” Malignaggi said when asked if he believes the contaminated meat excuse given by Canelo to explain the circumstances behind his 2 positive tests for clenbuterol. “What am I, retarded? Like I said, make him wait it out 6, 7 months, and give him the fight under the right circumstances. I’m starting to think the Commission will do the right thing. We’ll see. Hopefully, they can schedule the fight for December,” Malignaggi said.
Malignaggi was really animated when asked if he believes the contaminated meat excuse. It was as if the question was beneath him, because he clearly doesn’t buy the excuse. The thing is the contaminated meat excuse has been used successfully in the past. However, the Nevada Commission changed their rules in 2016, and it doesn’t appear that they’re going to let fighters use that excuse to get out of being suspended any longer. It’ll be unfortunate for Canelo because if he had tested positive 2 years ago for clenbuterol, his meat excuse would likely work for him. It might not work for him now under the present conditions.
“If you have the fight on May 5th, even though he passed the drug test, he’s still benefiting from the doping,” Malignaggi said to Fighthype.
Malignaggi suspected Canelo was using before his first fight with GGG last September. The way Canelo looked seems to have gotten Malignaggi suspicious about him. Canelo still passed all the tests by VADA before and after the fight with GGG, so there’s way of saying he used PEDs for certain.
“I wouldn’t say throughout his career, but I suspected him for a couple of years,” Malignaggi said about how he suspected Canelo has been using PEDs for the last two years. “Boxing is the [expletive] at drug testing. It’s like the wild test in the sport,” Malignaggi said.
Malignaggi thinks boxing should be drug tested all the time like in other sports, because if they only test 8 weeks before each fight, then there’s a lot of time for a fighter to use a PED if they’re interested in cheating.
