Long but interesting. A reader wrote in and Breadman basically co-signed the whole thing and says that is what is being talked about behind the scenes in boxing:
This is a long email but I think you would find some of this interesting.
I've been a member of an enormous Mexican soccer forum for over a decade, which has quite a large user base. There is a boxing sub-forum and I've seen personally how racial identification can make people so blind to even admitting there's some oddities regarding Canelo's failed tests.
Researching the various articles written about the subject, I've found most information was copied and pasted across the media so no one really offered anything different. Through personal research these are important points I have found which many people refuse to acknowledge.
1) Canelo was tested unexpectedly 11 weeks from the fight. Most camps are 6-8 weeks and this is typically when the fighters are tested. Abel Sanchez allegedly lobbied for more stringent testing, and this is why Canelo was tested so far back.
2) Canelo waited 5 weeks to have his hair tested. There is a lot of confusion regarding the headlines about this and i wanted to make the following clear, because 98% of articles are blindly repeating the same thing erroneously without researching or having a basic knowledge of chemistry. The hair test was NOT performed to determine the origin of the Clen. An endogenous chemical like clen taken from meat or from a syringe or from a strippers butthole will look exactly the same in the body - like Clen. It's not going to change and analyzing one's hair doesn't give a hint of the origin of the clen. It's like looking at someone's fecal matter and trying to determine if the protein they consumed was from beef purchased at McDonalds or Burger King. That's simple not how it works.
I researched steroid testing (there's entire forums with olympic and professional athletes giving each other advice on how to pass tests), and the only thing I could find which would give the media/Golden Boy this idea of hair testing was one person postulating on an independent website "High levels of Clen in hair could potentially indicate long term use." What it doesn't mention is that Clen is not needed long term, a 4 week cycle is enough, and furthermore long term use of Clen is actually counter productive, as the body builds a tolerance (much like any endogenous chemical) and becomes ineffective over longer periods of time.
What NO main stream media article includes is the fact that many factors come into play with hair testing to determine consistent use: the length of one's hair, the time which has passed since the substance was taken (5 weeks anyone?), the dose of the chemical (I believe clen is taken in micro-gram doses), etc.
3) He literally tested positive twice. If the mainstream media was correct that "clen stays in the hair for 6 weeks' he should have tested positive with his hair test regardless, just in lower levels "not consistent with long term use." Again, this is poor research from the media. No one seems to question why the test returned negative when he tested positive twice before. By their own logic regarding the hair test, they've contradicted themselves and failed to see it.
4) Here is where a bit of research and speculation come into play. Earlier this year the WBC personally released a list of Boxers not enrolled in VADA testing. Boxingscene posted this list. Canelo's name was not on the list, making it seems as though he was indeed enrolled in the testing. It is a requirement for anyone competing for a WBC belt to be enrolled in VADA testing. It was announced during the hearing that VADA personally stated Canelo is not currently enrolled, nor has he been enrolled in VADA's volunatry testing program. He was tested this time because it's in the fight contract, not because he's voluntarily enrolled in the program. I find it very strange that the WBC president has been blindly supportive of Canelo being clean despite Canleo not being enrolled into a program he requires his champions to be enrolled in. It also makes me wonder why he refused to fight for the WBC title last year. I would like to research when the WBC made these mandates with regards to being tested, if it was before or after Canelo fought Cotto. To me this is a clear indication that there is something suspicious at play.
4) It seems as though (i've read this though haven't been able to find official rules), that now that Canelo is suspended, he's out of jurisdiction to be tested. He's also not enrolled in any voluntary testing. So the next potential time he has to be tested is in the window before his september fight, five months to eat as much meat as he wants. This is also highly suspicious from a man that insists he will do anything to prove he's a clean fighter.
I think blind nationalism is terrible. I can't imagine how someone can support Canelo despite all these red flags just because he's Mexican. I am very disappointed in the mainstream media for repeating erroneous storylines like "His hair test proves he didn't take clen." I think if anything these things should be brought to the attention of someone important in the media. I have absolutely no faith, as a Mexican, that Canelo is a clean fighter. Every single indication points otherwise.
Damian Casanova
