Australia’s Lucas Browne released drug testing results to the media Wednesday that indicate he was drug-free several days before his historic heavyweight title win against Ruslan Chagaev in Chechnya.
The enormous 36-year-old prizefighter had his blood and urine tested by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA) on February 29, five days before his WBC ‘regular’ heavyweight championship bout.
Those tests came back clean as a whistle, but days later Browne’s post-fight drug test revealed traces of the banned steroid clenbuterol in his ‘A sample’.
“I was subjected to a randomly timed drug test by VADA. This was a test of blood and urine,” Browne said in a statement.
“The post-fight test was a urine-only test. I would like to again stress it was myself and my team who requested the bout be subject to VADA testing. I now hold clear and unequivocal evidence that this test was a negative test and shows clearly that I arrived in Chechnya a clean athlete.”
Browne’s ‘B sample’ has not been tested, because VADA has demanded the fighter pays for the second round of testing, but the former Sydney bouncer has no plans of opening his wallet.
“Given the result of the A sample, I have to believe that the B sample will [not] provide any different results,” he added.
The hard-hitting boxer could lose his championship and get slapped with a suspension following this positive drug test, but there are just too many unanswered questions lingering in the air right now.
How did clenbuterol get into Browne’s system?
The former mixed martial artist passed an unexpected and more advanced drug test on February 29, then flunked a basic urine test following the gruelling ten-rounder just five days later.
According to Browne, this proves that he entered Chechnya as a clean athlete. So, is it possible that the Sydneysider had his food or drink spiked? Unified heavyweight champion Tyson Fury believes so.
The British pugilist was ridiculed for refusing to drink water after snatching Wladimir Klitschko’s four heavyweight titles in Germany last November.
Maybe it wasn’t just wild paranoia from the 27-year-old slugger after all.
“Listen, I told you about these waters, didn’t I,” Fury said on British web series iFL TV. “What did I say at the Klitschko fight? Someone was trying to hand me drinks of water. I said no. Don’t give me nothing.
“Why do you think I wouldn’t take a drink until I got home? And I was dying for a drink. I was dehydrated. I could have drunk five gallons of water, but I never because of the drugs situation. Too smart for that lot.”
Why would Browne take clenbuterol?
The banned substance, which has famously popped up in the AFL and cycling worlds in recent years, is principally used as a fat-burning tool.
It seems like an odd choice for a heavyweight to be using drugs to slim down days before he steps between the ropes to fight Chagaev, a five-foot-eleven smashing machine with fists the size of sledgehammers.
Browne did look lean heading into the fight, though. His robust frame was noticeably different, and he had greater stamina than in previous bouts.
But to hear the big man explain it, that was all due to maintaining a diet, and eating “less just food”.
Why would Browne demand enhanced drug testing if he was going to cheat?
If Browne intended to use performance-enhancing-drugs before his first ever championship bout, his best chance at getting off scot-free would involve testing using the Russian Anti-Doping (RUSADA) program.
The Las Vegas-based VADA organisation, which is run by Dr Margaret Goodman, has one of the most strict and respected testing systems available.
And as Browne mentioned earlier, it was his handlers who lobbied for this enhanced testing, not the other way around.
Browne’s management team, led by former two-division champion Ricky Hatton, claim they will fight to prove their top charge’s innocence.
The jury is still out on whether or not they can keep the secondary WBC title around Browne’s waist, though.
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