Bypassing PED Testing Should Never Be an Option in Boxing

Professional boxing needs consistent standards for performance-enhancing drug testing across all U.S. commissions, according to Dr. Margaret Goodman, founder and president of the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association. In her latest column for The Ring Magazine, Goodman argues that fragmented oversight has created unequal enforcement and that positive tests should trigger automatic disqualification rulings, not just no-contests.

Until recently, most state athletic commissions only tested for stimulants, narcotics and THC on fight night. Some jurisdictions still operate that way, and several conduct no drug testing at all. The landscape shifted after Floyd Mayweather demanded out-of-competition testing by the United States Anti-Doping Agency in 2010 and VADA launched in late 2011, Goodman writes. Now more commissions send samples to World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited laboratories, but the overall system remains inadequate.

Unified Suspension Periods and DQ Rulings Needed

Greg Sirb, former president of the Association of Boxing Commissions, told The Ring that uniformity is essential. He called for standardized drug lists, cutoff levels and suspension periods tied to repeat offenses. "All fighters that test positive after a bout should be declared 'loser' of that bout by DQ," Sirb said. "Taking PEDs is an illegal, purposeful maneuver by the fighter — just like an illegal punch or headbutt would be ruled a DQ for that fighter if the other fighter could not continue."

Unified middleweight titleholder Janibek Alimkhanuly tested positive for Meldonium before a Texas bout in 2025, while former heavyweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev returned a positive result for synthetic testosterone in late 2020. Kovalev's case involved a Russian physician in California who documented prescribing the drug and telling the fighter it was not prohibited, according to attorney Patrick English, who has advised multiple fighters facing adverse findings.

VADA legal counsel Ryan Connolly notes that boxing's fragmented system means fighters face wildly different outcomes for identical violations depending on jurisdiction. Teofimo Lopez has proposed fines in the five figures and suspensions of eight to 18 months based on severity. Lopez and Alimkhanuly are scheduled to meet in a unification bout later this year.

Source: ringmagazine.com