Drug abuse in boxing is worse than in any other sport... it must be one strike and out for good, insist Lee and Andrew Selby
- Lucian Bute failed a doping test after fighting Badou Jack on April 30
- Muscle-honing and bone-strengthening substance Ostarine was found
- Lee and Andrew Selby have called for boxing dopers to be banned for life
The
Selby brothers - world champion Lee and British champion Andrew – are
calling for all boxers found guilty of doping to be banned for life.
The
Welsh siblings urged that sanction as the surge in prize-fighters
failing drugs tests continued with Lucian Bute testing positive for a
banned substance.
Bute,
the former world champion who lost title fights to our own Carl Froch
and James DeGale, was found with the muscle-honing and
bone-strengthening substance Ostarine in his system after his draw with
WBC super-middleweight champion Badou Jack on April 30.
Lee Selby has called for any boxers who fail drugs tests to serve life bans from the sport
Lucian Bute (right) failed a doping test after his super-middleweight title fight against Badou Jack on April 30
Bute was found to have muscle-honing and bone-strengthening substance Ostarine in his system
Bute,
like several prominent boxers of late, is protesting his innocence and
insisting he will be cleared by testing of his B-sample.
That
very rarely happens and if it does not in this case then the Selbys
believe Bute should be banished forever from the ring, along will all
other offenders.
Lee,
the reigning IBF world featherweight champion, said: 'Drug abuse is
even worse in boxing than any other sport. We put our lives on the line
and this increases the danger of serious harm. It must be one strike and
out – for good.'
Andrew,
the newly-crowned British flyweight champion, added: 'A life ban is the
real deterrent. Short suspensions for guilty boxers have only
encouraged others to take the risk of being detected.'
Both
brothers have been tested repeatedly of late. Lee five times in the
month before, during and after his successful world title defence
against tough American Erik Hunter. Andrew three times in the course of
winning his domestic crown.
All
those knocks on the door came at random and although both of them
welcome the stricter procedures Lee said: 'They should be testing every
boxer, not just those of us who are becoming more successful.
Andrew Selby (right) was tested three times in the course of winning his domestic crown
'It
is not a scandal, as some are saying, that more fighters are getting
caught. It is proof that boxing is taking drugs more seriously now and
that is a credit to the game. But it shouldn't be a lottery who gets
examined. From now on, I am going to insist on all my opponents
submitting to tests, as well as myself.'
Andrew,
the younger by a little less than two years, added: 'There are a very
few, very exceptional cases when an athlete may have taken something
unbeknown to himself. Me and my brother are clean but just to make sure I
don't fall into that trap I've stopped taking all supplements. It's
only vitamin C for me now.'
The
Selbys have spoken out at the start of a busy weekend for British
boxing, highlighted by world title bids by Ricky Burns in Glasgow and
Tony Bellew at Goodison Park - the home of his beloved Everton.
Tony Bellew (left) fights Ilunga Makubu at the home of his beloved Goodison Park on Saturday night
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