On August 3rd, Steven Nelson's super middleweight bout against Marcos Vázquez Rodriguez at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles ended in a stunning fifth-round knockout victory, but it was marred when his opponent tested positive for a banned substance.
Despite the dominant performance, the 36-year-old Nelson (20-0, 16 KOs) was disheartened by the news last Friday that lab results released by VADA showed Rodriguez had recombinant EPO in his system. Naturally, Nelson felt Rodriguez had crossed an ethical line.
“When I compete, I'm trying to show the world who I am the best at what I do,” Nelson said. “In this match, it was clear that I was far superior to my opponent, but imagine what would happen if we were evenly matched. All it takes is a little nudge to win the match, and that nudge could be an athlete taking performance-enhancing drugs.”
Nelson expressed dismay at the widespread use of PEDs in sports and highlighted the dedication of these athletes who rely solely on pure, hard work: “It's unfortunate that these athletes are turning to PEDs to win games or stay at the top. There are a lot of athletes out there who are pure, who work hard, who believe in themselves and work hard,” Nelson said.
Reflecting on the prevalence of drug use in boxing, Nelson acknowledged that it is tempting for some fighters to consider PEDs to compete at the highest level, but he is inspired by training with teammate and childhood friend Terence Crawford, who Nelson proudly describes as a clean athlete.
“A lot of athletes get arrested for drug use and start thinking maybe they have to take performance-enhancing drugs to get to the top,” Nelson said. “Every other athlete is doing it. … I've been blessed to be around clean athletes, one of whom is pound-for-pound No. 1 Terence Crawford. So I know that if we have that blueprint for how we work and how we train, we can be the best in the world.”
Nelson also speculated about the timing of Rodriguez's drug use, noting that both fighters were tested a few weeks before the fight with negative results. “He was tested before the fight and right after the fight,” Nelson said. “I think he assumed that was the only test he had and he was taking something to give him an advantage heading into the fight.”
Lucas Ketel is a proud member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and author of “Inside The Ropes of Boxing” (available on Amazon). He can be reached at X @LukieBoxing.