Boxing has a drug problem. Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh can make fixing it his legacy

IIt is a fact that I have expressed my doubts about the migration of major boxing matches to Saudi Arabia. But I recognize that the Kingdom will be a dominant force in boxing for the foreseeable future.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has organized an increasing number of high-profile fights through its General Entertainment Authority (GEA). On May 18, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. This summer, the GEA will expand its reach to fight cards in Los Angeles and London.

Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, is the driving force behind Saudi Arabia’s growing influence in boxing. His personal involvement and respect for the sport are well known. I would like to see Turki Alalshikh take the lead in the fight against the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs in boxing.

In boxing, the integrity of competition is all too often undermined by the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs. Enforcement of the ban on its use is insufficient. With today’s advanced microdosing techniques, traces of illegal PEDs can disappear from a fighter aircraft’s system within 24 to 48 hours. Most fighters are rarely tested. And when a fighter tests positive, he often employs powerful lawyers who undermine the imposition of effective sanctions against him.

Fighters who have tested positive for illegal performance-enhancing drugs are taking legal action. They use ‘medical confidentiality’ as sword and shield. It is often claimed that a combatant has been “justified” and “proven innocent” of wrongdoing, despite statements to the contrary. Facts underlying the case are hidden from the public. There is even talk of fighters avoiding the consequences of previous positive test results by trying to fight in Saudi Arabia.

I am not an Islamic scholar. But I understand that the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs is a form of cheating that violates the precepts of fair competition underlined in the Quran.

There are two major stumbling blocks to eradicating illegal performance-enhancing drugs in boxing: (1) a lack of motivation among those in control, and (2) the cost of effective drug testing.

The General Entertainment Authority is uniquely positioned to overcome these obstacles. Almost every fighter in the world wants to fight under his banner because of the large amounts of money involved. To do this, they will obey the rules. And the GEA has the money to pay for an advanced comprehensive drug testing program.

With that in mind, I would like to make the following proposal:

(1) The General Entertainment Authority, in conjunction with the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (Vada), should establish a program to test boxers for illegal performance-enhancing drugs.

(2) To be eligible to compete in a fight under the auspices of the General Entertainment Authority, a fighter must be enrolled in the GEA-Vada program at least six months prior to the fight. Obviously, the six-month requirement will only come into effect after the program has been in effect for six months. But fighters would have to register now to be eligible for a date within the next six months.

(3) The program would cost between $500,000 and $1,000,000 annually. There would be a cost savings on the back end of the testing process because, if a fighter is subjected to year-round testing, fewer tests will be needed as a fight gets closer. Here I should note that Vada tests are already being used for some General Entertainment Authority battles. But testing only begins after a fight is drawn. And PEDs are often most effective when used months before a fight to build core strength. The GEA would pay for the tests, so the fighters would not be charged.

For the program to be effective and credible, it must be managed by Vada.

Vada is the most trusted PED testing entity in boxing. It conducts more thorough testing than any other entity and has the best reporting requirements.

There was an eight-year period during which the United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) conducted 1,501 tests for performance-enhancing drugs on 128 professional boxers. But USADA reported only one negative finding involving a professional boxer to a state athletic commission at that time. And that message came after a website showed that the fighter in question had tested positive for a banned substance.

It is unlikely that USADA administered 1,501 tests to 128 professional boxers and that only one of these tests was positive. In contrast, Vada reported a positive test rate of almost 4% in the same time frame. Based on the Vada benchmark, you would expect that 60 of the 1,501 tests conducted by Usada would have returned a positive result. After these figures were made public in a research report, USADA stopped testing professional boxers.

Some promoters like to test with Drug Free Sport because DFS has protocols that often allow positive test results to be swept under the rug without notification to all interested parties. So forget Drug Free Sports.

Now comes the hardest part. If the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia establishes a serious PED testing program, it is inevitable that positive test results will be reported. When that happens, the GEA must be determined. This means that there are no drastic positive test results under the carpet. No bow to bogus analytical studies by “experts” bought and paid for by fighters who tested positive.

The GEA can protect the integrity of the PED testing process because it has the financial resources to stand up to harassment.

If Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority inaugurates this program, it will change boxing for the better in a meaningful way. And Turki Alalshikh’s legacy will be that of a man who has made tremendous progress at the highest level in cleansing boxing of illegal performance-enhancing drugs.

That would be a legacy worthy of praise. And I can’t think of a greater gift to boxing.

• Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His most recent book – a memoir titled My mother and I – is now in stores. In 2019, he was selected for boxing’s highest honor: induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.