Boxing
Kevin Lerena puts injury and doping scandal behind him ahead of big fight
• Kevin Lerena returned to the boxing spotlight this week saying he was over his shoulder injury and the doping cloud that hampered him last year.
He was one of SA boxing's three big drug casualties of 2018, and they've all taken hits in various ways, whether guilty or not:
• A heavyweight champion Ruann Visser won his case after testing positive for a steroid, but his saga isn't over because the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) is appealing his acquittal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland;
• Barend van Rooyen, 41, returned to the gym this week after serving a year's ban and being stripped of his SA middleweight crown for testing positive for a diuretic he says was in medication he took for high blood pressure; and
• Lerena was dropped from the latest rankings by the World Boxing Council (WBC).
Visser and Van Rooyen were tested by the SA Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS), a member of Wada, while Lerena was tested by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (Vada), a private organisation.
Boxing's world sanctioning bodies are not signatories to Wada, but the WBC has instead launched its Clean Boxing Programme, compulsory for its champions and top-15 contenders.
When it comes to doping, international boxing has been the Wild West, with top fighters testing positive for drugs but escaping the serious sanctions associated with Wada.
In Lerena's case, the Vada test has no jurisdiction with Wada or SAIDS.
A WBC source says a final decision on Lerena will be made tomorrow.
The good news for Lerena is that the marginal International Boxing Organisation (IBO), whose world title he holds, found in his favour.
IBO president Ed Levine told the Sunday Times in an email the championship committee had reviewed Lerena's evidence.
"The committee concluded that Lerena's ingestion of a prohibited substance was clearly accidental (his wife's prescription) and of no medical value to Lerena at that time.
"While we do not contest Vada's adverse findings, we do not deem it appropriate to vacate Lerena's IBO world title at this time."
Lerena, who underwent surgery on his right shoulder in July, will make the third defence of his IBO cruiserweight belt against unbeaten German Artur Mann at Emperors Palace on March 16.
SAIDS will test Lerena out of competition before then, and the boxer is welcoming it.
"I've never failed a [Wada] drug test. In the build-up to this fight I said I want testing every two weeks to prove to people [I'm clean]. It just makes people shut up."
Lerena, who also works as a paramedic, said he hadn't struggled to deal with the stigma of the positive result. "I know who I am as a person, I know what I'm about."
Van Rooyen - 39 when he lifted the SA middleweight crown on his third attempt at a national title - was devastated when told he had failed the drug test.
He was in tears when he phoned trainer Damien Durandt. "I was heartbroken. I was hiding away in my own house. Going away at weekends, just hiding.
"A lot of people think, when they hear 'doping' ... steroids. Meanwhile it's my medication," said the father of one. A diuretic can be used as a masking agent for other drugs.
Van Rooyen lost his first title shot on points against SA lightweight champion Martin Jacobs in 2001, and two years later was stopped by SA junior-welterweight champion Lucky Lewele.
Van Rooyen, a scrap dealer, quit the sport after that, and during his retirement was put on the medication for high blood pressure and cholesterol.
He's as eager as ever to win that elusive SA belt, although he's had to change his blood pressure tablets. Ironically, his three sponsors have stuck with him and he's gained a fourth for the comeback.
Visser will face Elvis Moyo on February 10, and his father Nefdt, also his manager, is confident they will win the matter at CAS.
"Already my lawyers are busy on that.
"I think Ruann has got a very good case," he said, adding that the legal battle had already cost more than R1m.
KEVIN'S NIGHTMARE START OF THE PAIN
Kevin Lerena started struggling with his right shoulder six fights ago in 2016, saying the first bout it affected him was the one against Micki Nielsen of Denmark.
THE EXTENT OF IT
The day after a fight or hard training session Lerena required anti-inflammatories and extensive physiotherapy.
THE SURGERY
Lerena tried to sort it out with a month's rest, but then decided to go under the knife. The operation on July 10 lasted about three hours and 45 minutes.
THE FAILED DRUG TEST
Lerena was tested in Johannesburg on October 18 and the adverse finding was announced by the WBC on November 6.
THE EXPLANATION
"We have this tablets container next to our bed," says Lerena. "I was on a lot of things. I can't tell you I took [my wife's] tablet - it's the only thing I can think of."..
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