When Sergey Kovalev faced Bernard Hopkins last year, much of the pre-fight chatter was about drug testing or lack thereof. In the fight, the only testing that was used was administered by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board. Kathy Duva of Main Events, Kovalev’s promotion, claimed that it was not their responsibility for administering extra testing and that it should be left up to the state commissions. Fast forward to the upcoming March 14th bout, where Sergey Kovalev with face Jean Pascal, and we are again addressing drug testing, specifically, it’s absence. Pascal is famous for asking Bernard Hopkins in their two fights to, “Take the damn test.” Pascal, known for his pro-testing stance, is again making some harsh accusations toward the Kovalev camp.
According to a report by BoxingScene.com, Pascal had requested random drug testing but says he it was rejected because of the high cost. Pascal says that Kovalev agreed to the testing, but only if Pascal was willing to foot the bill. After Pascal agreed to pay for the random testing, he was informed that Main Events was again refusing the testing.
“First his manager and Main Events wanted us to pay for random testing. I said yes and agreed to pay for both our tests. Then they did a total 180. They only wanted two tests, one 15 days before the fight and one post fight test. How is that random?,” Pascal told BoxingScene.com. Simply put, Main Events is making this decision over the money, choosing their payday over a level playing field. And That’s a shame because at the end of the day it’s the boxers leaving their blood, sweat and tears in the ring – not the promoters.”
Pascal feels that Main Events is making their fighter look suspect because of their decisions.
“In my opinion, Kathy Duva’s reasoning only makes it seem like she isn’t sure her champion is clean. Main Events and InterBox are very successful companies that won’t go out of business if this fight is cancelled due to a dirty test. However, an uneven playing field can ruin a boxer’s career and that’s far from the worst outcome when you think about it.”
In the report, Egis Klimas, Kovalev’s manager responded to the allegation of his fighter.
“I can guarantee you that my fighter is 100% clean, he never used anything and if they pay for it – we’ll be willing to do anything it takes. I have no problems about this,” Klimas told BoxingScene. “Even if Pascal tested dirty, we wouldn’t cancel the fight – we’d still fight him.”
