Edwin Rodriguez said last year in an interview with Thaboxingvoice.com that he would explore 24/7 drug testing and follow in the footsteps of Nonito Donaire who enrolled in the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) year round drug testing program.
Rodriguez is very adamant about doing his part to keep the sport clean and he absolutely detests the idea of steroids in boxing. He is fully committed to the idea of year round testing and he is willing to engage in it, but he knows that it is a costly process and it can only be accomplished if he is fighting in the kind of money fights that compliments what is considered a “luxury.”
“My manager has spoken with my promoter about it; I know it’s expensive to do that kind of stuff. I’m working with Victor Conte (who also works with Donaire) and we’re willing to do 24/7 drug testing because we know we’re clean.
“There have been a lot of people coming out dirty, this is a dangerous sport already and it’s greedy to be putting things in your body that will make you stronger and giving you a better chance of pretty much ending somebody’s life. I’m just trying to be one of those guys that is trying to make the sport clean, I don’t want to fight somebody who beats me because he’s taking steroids,” Rodriguez said.
It’s upsetting to know that the desire to prove the legitimacy of oneself and participate in the solution of a problem is a luxury afforded to the competitors in only the most financially lucrative of fights. Meanwhile, Rodriguez is ready to make the commitment to excellence at a time when the sport is at its most vulnerable. Year round testing shouldn’t be a privilege for fighters, it should be a privilege to fans and it shouldn’t be a requirement in only big time fights or a prerequisite to landing name opponents like Floyd Mayweather Jr., Timothy Bradley, and Nonito Donaire. Instead, fighters should be forced to keep up with the times and evolve with the pharmaceutical ingenuity of modern sports.
Mayweather, Bradley, and Donaire are deserving of all the credit that should be given to fighters that take the initiative to change the sport for the better, but Rodriguez should have the opportunity to make a difference regardless of circumstance.
