SEARCH NEWS:

 

Vargas Suspended for Steroids

"Both sides got their points across during a hearing before the Nevada Athletic Commission that ended with Vargas being suspended from fighting until June 15 and fined $100,000.

"Vargas got a chance to make his case that he would never knowingly use steroids. He also got a harsher penalty than he expected Wednesday when the Nevada Athletic commission suspended him for nine months retroactive to his Sept. 14 fight with Oscar De La Hoya.

"The suspension means Vargas cannot fight until June 15 and will miss a proposed April comeback fight that was to be shown on network TV.

"…Commissioners appeared to believe the steroid use was inadvertent, but still voted 4-1 to penalize Vargas and send a message that steroids won't be tolerated. It was believed to be the first time a boxer has been suspended for steroid use, although Francois Botha was stripped of his IBF heavyweight title in 1995 for testing positive in Germany.

"…Vargas said he had hired a nutritionist in the weeks before the fight to help him lose weight and make the 154-pound limit, and took a number of nutritional supplements and vitamins given to him without questioning them.

" Vargas said he went to three different clinics to give a urine sample after being taken to the hospital after the fight, and was shocked when he got a phone call while vacationing in Hawaii two weeks later that he had tested positive.

"…The urine test revealed the steroid stanozolol, the same drug that cost sprinter Ben Johnson his gold medal and world record in the 100 meters in the 1988 Olympics…"

< Gaming News