Orlando Salido camp skeptical of Francisco Vargas innocence claims as June 4 fight proceeds

The California State Athletic Commission will allow World Boxing Council super-featherweight champion Francisco Vargas to keep his scheduled June 4 title defense at StubHub Center against veteran Orlando Salido despite Vargas’ positive test for the banned substance Clenbuterol.

Andy Foster, executive officer of the commission, said in a Friday conference call that a new resolution requiring frequent testing of Vargas between now and fight night would be required to allow Vargas to fight, and Eric Gomez, an executive with Golden Boy Promotions, agreed to the stipulations.

“We have no choice but to agree to that,” Gomez said on the call. “We don’t condone that [banned substance use] and he has to test [negative] from this point on.”

It was unclear if Vargas would return to California for the remainder of his training, or complete it in Mexico, where sparring partners have already been hired and positioned, according to Vargas’ manager, Ralph Heredia.

The Nevada-based Voluntary Anti-Doping Assn. secured Vargas’ positive test and the company will conduct the subsequent tests, which were to resume Monday.

“It could’ve been an innocent situation,” Foster said in a conference call the Los Angeles Times was allowed to monitor.

Foster’s theory is based on a report by the Associated Press last week that testers were concerned in advance of the Summer Games this year in Brazil about positive tests for Clenbuterol resulting from the use of the substance in feed to Mexican cattle.

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Foster earlier told The Times that Clenbuterol, banned due to its weight-loss effects, seemed odd to be found in Vargas (23-0-1, 17 knockouts) since he was six weeks away from the fight.

While Salido and his manager Sean Gibbons accepted the commission’s decision without pushing Golden Boy and Vargas for compensation, they retained skepticism that Vargas’ positive was an innocent mistake.

Gibbons noted Salido is “eating the same carne asada in Mexico that Vargas is,” and is leery of Vargas’ account that he ingested the substance while eating one of his mother’s favorite dishes last week after arriving in Mexico from early training in Big Bear.

“I had an issue 10 years ago [testing positive for the steroid nandrolone] and I know that is why Vargas team insisted on the VADA testing for this fight, and by the way I welcomed [it],” Salido said in a statement sent to The Times by his publicist.

“I have proven to be a clean boxer over the last 10 years and I have never received the benefit of the doubt, like Vargas is getting now, but that’s OK, as long we fight on June 4, I will find my justice in the ring.”

Gibbons praised Foster’s work for gathering the parties on a conference call to “save the fight,” but added that volunteering for testing, as Vargas did, does not guarantee an athlete is clean, suggesting weight-loss methods can be helpful early or late in training.

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“What I am not happy about is we had the same arguments 10 years ago and no one would believe us,” Gibbons said. “Just because Vargas’ people say, ‘Well, we have to be clean because we ask for the VADA testing on the fight … .’ That is complete nonsense. And they have everyone believing that Vargas should be considered innocent because of this.

“Orlando has been training in Mexico for the past two months, eating all the meat he wants, and has had no problem with his results. At the end of the day, we are happy the positive test came up now so we can make sure Vargas is clean from here on out.”

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