Lamont Peterson’s title retention - justice served or wasted? – Boxing Special
Rarely it happens in the world of boxing that a fighter is allowed to retain his title despite failing a drug test. However, in Peterson’s case, it has happened and the American fighter has been allowed to retain his light welterweight title. The IBF gave
its verdict last week, after considering Peterson’s medical report, which stated that the high testosterone levels in his body were due to his medications and not performance enhancing drugs.
“After concluding the review of all the documentation provided by Peterson’s camp and the Nevada State Athletic Commission, the physician determined that the testosterone levels noted in the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association report are consistent with the
therapeutic use of the hormone and not for the purpose of performance enhancement,” read IBF’s statement that was released two weeks back.
In reply, Peterson released a statement that read, “I’m thankful, and I’m thrilled with the IBF’s decision.”
“I want to thank my manager, Barry Hunter, for all of his support throughout this ordeal. There were a lot of naysayers out there, but Barry and the rest of my team never doubted me. My team fought non-stop to ensure that I was cleared,” he added.
Peterson is now planning to fight Zab Judah in his first title defence fight. According to Peterson, he never stopped training and he is still in great shape to take on an opponent. He added that he needs to get in touch with Judah’s camp to finalize the
deal.
For now, Peterson is flying high following IBF’s verdict. It should be noted here that Peterson was a unified champion. He defeat Briton Amir Khan last year in December to win the WBA and IBF light welterweight titles via controversial decision.
Peterson was scheduled to face Khan on May 19 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas in his first title defence bout. However, following his positive drug test report in April, the rematch was cancelled.
Khan immediately appealed to the IBF and WBA to strip Peterson off the titles. While the WBA accepted Khan’s plea, the IBF reserved its decision believing an inquiry should be made. After the inquiry, the IBF decided to let Peterson retain the title, shattering
Khan’s hopes of retaining the title.
Now, Khan finds himself in a situation where he has no options left for a title shot. The Briton wanted to have a rematch against Danny Garcia but the unbeaten American declined the request. Similarly, Khan cannot even reclaim a rematch against Peterson,
as the latter is already trying to get a match against Zab Judah.
Most analysts are of the view that IBF’s decision is unfair. If an athlete is juiced up then he should not be allowed to fight, whether it is due to medications or direct intake of steroids. Peterson, who always claimed he has been since to the sport, will
find it easier now to enhance his performance under the banner of ‘medications’ and so can several other athletes.
If the IBF has allowed Peterson to do so, surely others will follow the same route. Think of it – if every other fighter will enhance his performance with medications, would not it be unfair to those who play naturally? In other words, IBF’s decision is
damaging to the sport and it should be revoked before similar incidents start happening frequently.
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