Fair fight on cards: Parker, AJ pass drug tests
Whatever happens in the Cardiff ring next month as Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker attempt to claim what both believe is their destiny in unifying the heavyweight world titles, it should be a fair fight because both will have undergone a thorough testing regime for illegal drugs.
Kiwi Parker and Englishman Joshua have signed up to Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA) protocols, which means they can have their blood and urine tested at regular intervals before the March 31 fight.
Parker’s promoter David Higgins told the Herald on Sunday: “I can confirm Joseph Parker has been tested three times and Anthony Joshua has been tested four times.”
This is significant for the credibility of the event, expected to be the richest in British boxing history, and for the fact Joshua was described by Parker recently as being the “king of steroids”, a jibe which Higgins described as a “throwaway line” and which he and Team Parker have since backed away from.
Parker, too, made headlines last year when he wasn’t at his Las Vegas home when drugs testers arrived following his victory over Razvan Cojanu in Auckland in May.
This miss was described by his camp as an “oversight” due to his staying in Samoa rather than returning to his base.
The use of performanceenhancing drugs in boxing is an increasingly big issue.
Russian Alexander Povetkin will appear on the undercard of the Joshua v Parker main event despite failing two tests in 2016. On March 3, WBC heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder will face Luiz Ortiz in a title defence in New York despite Ortiz failing two tests in four years.
On the weekend before Joshua v Parker, Australian Lucas Browne will take on Englishman Dillian Whyte in London. Both men have failed drugs tests in the past, with Browne stripped of his WBA “regular” world title as a result.
Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, has insisted British boxing at least has the problem of performanceenhancing drugs contained.
“I really believe it’s a problem that’s being solved,” Hearn told Britain’s Independent last month.
“Where we are now compared to two or three years ago is night and day.
“The main problem, I feel, is in other countries but Britain is doing well. We have the Ukad [United Kingdom Anti-Doping] random testing. It means Joshua was tested six times in the build-up to his last camp. Other fighters are getting knocks on the door at 3am for testing.
“But in America, or other countries, there is no testing at all other than around the event, although that is changing.”
For Higgins, the testing is important because the fight game is “the purist form of contest. It’s not a team sport, you can’t rely on team-mates, there’s nowhere to hide, it’s just you versus the other guy”.