So, Wilder-Povetkin is off.  It seems every Russian fight lately is marred by a "drug" issue.  First, it was the dubious way that previously 100% clean athletes were 'testing positive' coincidentally after beating Russian fighters.  This has happened to Guillermo Jones and now Lucas Browne in the past couple of years.  Fishy, to say the least.  However, the one fighter who lost in Mother Russia with no corruption aiding him in the last few years was Povetkin (against Klitschko).  Now, it seems it has happened to him again.  

Povetkin has tested positive for a substance that was recently banned.  It is still in his system, he says, from having taken it before it was banned, but that story seems a bit flawed.  First off, it sounds highly illegal in that it improves stamina by affecting oxygen levels in a synthetic form.  How could they not have seen it coming, that this would be a banned substance?  Why are fighters taking anything anymore?  Just eat fruits and vegetables for christ's sake, and retire when your body quits.  Is this so hard?  

Were fighters gassing out any worse back in the days of white bread and soda than they are now?  No, they were fighting longer, and more rounds, and more often.  Nutrition and exercise are the most important things anyway.  If fighters are going to cancel fights every time something is sore, and only fight twice a year, why the hell do they need so many supplements?  Their bodies are not being taxed to any level, comparable to the old school fighters.  I cannot, for the life of me, understand why fighters would be taking anything stronger than a multivitamin, and even then... running it by the VADA doctors first.  

Entire careers are being ruined, and for what?  The corrupt "slipping in the drink" is happening too much anyway.  Why would you knowingly risk your health and career to do something completely unnatural?  Rocky IV was probably one of the hokeyest of the franchise, but they sure hit the nail on the head in the one scene where Ivan Drago is injected, without asking a single question.  I, for one, do not relate!