The Wall_Spring 2023_Issue 9

Behind the brutal yet carefully maintained veneer that boxing exudes, lurks several dirty secrets. One of which is the rampant abuse of performance enhancing drugs.“PEDs” are unfortunately a staple in any sports fan’s newsfeed as athletes, desperate for any advantage, allow their moral compass to be thwarted.Allured by the promise of lucrative paydays and enticed by the possibility of cementing their name in the history books. So, you may ask, out of all sports why choose boxing?Whilst in other sports the downside of an uneven match, results in a one-sided score line. In boxing people die. Human brains are not supposed to be hit hundreds of times within a span of half an hour, add in an unnatural ability to dish out and receive trauma - the potential downside is devastating. Boxing as a premise is exceptionally simple, almost primal. It calls upon the types of emotions and attributes employed by our ancestors thousands of years ago.With this is mind, PEDs use is not only truly deadly but deeply immoral in a sport built upon the foundation of raw human emotion. On October 5th a journalist from the Daily Mail leaked to the public that championship contender Conor Benn had tested positive for the drug Clomiphene (a female fertility drug, used to mask anabolic steroid use and increase testosterone production).Three days before his seismic encounter with Chris Eubank Jr, a fight that had captured the British public’s imagination as both family names were steeped in boxing history, with the fighters’ fathers enjoying a two-fight rivalry against each other that stretched back to the 80’s. Set to produce over £25 million, the fight’s cancelation put the spotlight directly on boxing’s dirty secret. Disgust and outrage over the fight’s cancelation was only amplified by the disgraceful actions of the promoter Eddie Hearn whose desper ate attempt to brush over Benn’s drug use Louis Sanders, (he/him), LVI, reports on the dangers of perfor mance enhancing drugs and how it’s changing boxing today.

and allow the fight to go ahead garnered mass criticism. Benn’s opponent Chris Eubank Jr was already cutting weight for the fight so would have less fluid around his brain thus, by even suggesting the fight should still go-ahead Hearn exposed his own and the boxing industry’s true priority.Which is not the welfare of its fighters but instead lining their exten sive pockets.The most worrying take away from this whole debacle was that a fighter felt able to cheat despite being involved with such a high-level event that had the eyes of millions upon it. Combine that with the fact that Benn knew he’d be drug tested and we’re left wondering how a feel able to subvert these regula tions.That’s where medical professionals come in to assist these fighters. Enter Dr Usman Sajjad, a well-known doctor that works with high profile athletes such as Tyson Fury, Paddy “the Baddy” and Tommy Fury.This doctor also worked with Conor Benn and talked aYouTube channel through the steps of avoiding drug tests and even boasted “you have to be an idiot to fail a drugs test.” Suspicious right? Fans were even more shocked when it was revealed the doctor specialised in testosterone therapy and deleted his website and Instagram moments after Benn failed a drugs test.Whilst there is no concrete evidence showing Dr Sajjad helped Benn, he is currently under investigation. Doctors are often caught up with drug scandals as they have the knowledge on how to administer the correct substances to the athletes they cater for. Whilst there is no concrete evidence showing Dr Sajjad helped Benn, he is currently under

investigation. Doctors are often caught up with drug scandals Doctors are often caught up with drug scandals as they have the knowledge on how to administer the correct substances to the athletes they cater for. There is a saying within the sport that is repeated senselessly whenever a famous fighter fails a drugs test,“the top fighters, they’re all on it.” It is both concerning and strange that fans do not feel the need to implement yearly regular and random drugs test to filter out the cheats from the valiant warriors that put their lives on the line. Currently drug tests are not taken year-round, meaning fighters can, in theory, cycle on and off PEDs, something we would like not to think boxers do but in reality, something many take advantage of. Boxing journalist Gabriel Montoya explained training and boxing with someone on testosterone felt like “punching a brick wall” and that his opponent was able to “rag-doll” him within the ring.When a fighter has these massive advantages over their rival it completely skews the athletic plain in which they’re competing. For a sport that’s supposed to have a level playing field, these complete irregularities completely ruin the years of hard work these fighters put into the sport. Not only does drug use dilute the sports integrity and give fans an unequal view of competition, but as I’ve mentioned before, the fighter’s health is too precious to be the subject of a profit driven experiment in which scientists vie for any slight advantage and in the process, risk people’s mortality. If boxing wants to progress past the Benn - Eubank fiasco, it urgently needs to draw back the curtain of deceit and immorality that shroud PED use in clandestine silence.

Artwork: Sienna Harriss, LVI

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