Reminiscent of what transpired a year ago, when Ryan Garcia failed the drug tests for the Haney fight, a new drug scandal seems to have descended upon the boxing world. And it’s spreading like wildfire. Reports have emerged that following tests undertaken for the rematch with Bruce Surace, Jaime Munguia has returned positive results for banned substances. The duo fought on the May 3 Canelo-Scull card.

Now, as much as Munguia is trying to firefight the allegation, the controversy seems to be spreading its tentacles far and wide. Even those associated with Munguia now find themselves besmirched. And that includes his new training team, the Eddy Reynoso stable, and its star fighter, Canelo Alvarez. Needless to say, thoughts and views on boxing’s latest controversy are coming down in torrents. Tomorrow, at the Michelob Ultra Arena, after a 17-month layoff, on the Caleb Plant-Jose Armando Resendiz card, Jermall Charlo will face Thomas LaManna. When asked for his views on the Jaime Munguia PED controversy, the former middleweight champion, who has an axe to grind with Canelo, minced no words.

Gaming the system

So following the press conference, as he interacted with a group of reporters, a question popped up: “Just asking, when you think about Canelo and the PED usage, right, this is probably the fourth or fifth fighter out of that camp that’s come up for PED. Just what are your thoughts around that?” Tapping into real concerns in combat sports about PED loopholes, testing integrity, and uneven enforcement, Hitman Charlo’s response was raw, unscripted, and emotionally charged.

Initially, he emphasized how performance-enhancing drugs are often engineered. They are kept under the threshold that triggers a positive test result. “They make the drug at the limit of non-responsible, all right,” Charlo said. Using his hands to demonstrate the boundary, he added, “So, like, this is this right here. This level is, uh, your ban. That’s a banned substance. They will make the drug all the way up to the line of the banned substance, but it doesn’t show.” According to Charlo, such infractions have been happening ‘for years.’

So he asked, “Y’all think Canelo haven’t been taking clenbuterol for a long a** time? Y’all think he ain’t back on that sh*t, or y’all think it was just in the state?” He was referring to the 2018 incident. Ahead of the rematch with Gennady Golovkin, Canelo tested positive for the banned substance. At the time, he blamed contaminated meat for the drug results.

So Charlo stressed, “They’re micro-dosing it.” Claiming many fighters globally are into such practices, the former champion concluded, “They make the drug right there to the line of this qualification, but they don’t surpass it, so they’re not getting caught for it. A lot of these fighters are on all kinds of sh*t.”

Now, two years ago, Jermall Charlo’s twin brother lost to Canelo. Then he almost had an opportunity to face the Mexican superstar. So a few could pin Charlo’s utterances to a long-pending grudge against Canelo.

Apprehensions shared across the board after the Jaime Munguia PED fiasco

But a few others echoed similar sentiments. Oscar De La Hoya promotes Jaime Munguia. But he has no love lost for Canelo. “My perspective is, who’s their trainer? I mean, if there are four fighters who are testing positive for whatever drug, well, who’s the trainer? Because the trainer should oversee that; the trainer should overlook that, you know, whether they have a nutritionist, whether they have a doctor, but the trainer is in charge,” De La Hoya opined.

The latest drug results are the outcome of Test A, which reportedly came back positive for external testosterone. It looks like VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Association) informed Munguia officially on Wednesday night. So the fighter and his team are now preparing a formal response.

If Munguia requests it within 10 days, the authorities will test Sample B to confirm the result. If clean, they might clear him. However, in case of a positive, the result of the fight with Surace could be overturned. He might receive a suspension of 6 months to 1 year, like Ryan Garcia did for a similar violation.

What’s your take on Jermall Charlo’s latest comments on the drug controversy?