World Boxing Council starts Clean Boxing Program

The World Boxing Council on Saturday announced a new Clean Boxing Program that will begin in 90 days and include worldwide “random, 24/7” drug testing of the sanctioning body’s top-15 fighters in each division.

“Boxing has been facing a problem with drugs and we have to address it,” World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman said at a news conference. “The athletes have to understand the dangers of drugs. We’ve funded the program, and any other [sanctioning] body is invited to participate.”

The program will feature testing by former Nevada ringside physician Margaret Goodman’s Voluntary Anti-Doping Assn., with various state and international athletic commissions providing the discipline beyond the WBC’s ability to warn, ban or strip belts from their fighters.

“Boxing has a litany of problems, but this program will try to establish some standardization,” said Goodman.

The program will begin with a 90-day education period, when fighters can access information including a list of the substances tested for, the dangers of each, warnings about over-the-counter supplements, and a list of therapeutic-use exemptions.

Goodman said Nevada-based VADA will administer the WBC program, using the anti-doping agency’s existing policies and procedures, including mandatory whereabouts information and registration, with an app available to athletes to alter their whereabouts, where certified doping collection officers can find them.

The WBC will pay for the service, providing an undisclosed monthly budget Goodman said she would adhere to in an effort to maximize effectiveness.

“It’s time we start dealing with this,” said Goodman, whose agency has previously tested top fighters including Manny Pacquiao, Sergey Kovalev, Gennady Golovkin, along with Canelo Alvarez and Amir Khan throughout their preparation for Saturday night’s WBC middleweight title fight at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Sulaiman said the WBC’s official policy will be posted by next week, with information for all fighters to access, including a webinar highlighted by a testimony from former Tour de France cyclist Tyler Hamilton about his performance-enhancing drug use, and an anonymous hotline for athletes to ask about any prescription or supplement they’re seeking to use.

Last week, the California State Athletic Commission opted not to halt the June 4 title defense at StubHub Center by WBC super-featherweight Francisco Vargas after Vargas tested positive through VADA for the banned weight-loss substance Clenbuterol.

California commission Executive Officer Andy Foster, after reports that possible Clenbuterol-contaminated meat in Mexico might have influenced Vargas’ result, ruled that Vargas must participate in repeated testing until he fights former featherweight champion Orlando Salido.