By Allan Fox: Oscar Valdez has been removed from Ring Magazine’s top 10 boxing rankings due to his positive test for the banned performance-enhancing drug phentermine. The unbeaten WBC super featherweight champion Valdez (30-0, 23 KOs) had been ranked #1 with Ring Magazine at 130, but not anymore.
Interestingly, Valdez wasn’t stripped of his WBC title by the World Boxing Council, nor was he prevented from defending the strap against fringe contender Robson Conceicao (16-1, 8 KOs) on September 10th at the Casino Del Sol in Tucson, Arizona.
The local Pascua Yaqui Tribe Athletic commission didn’t stop the fight from happening, which led to much criticism from boxing fans, who felt that Valdez was dirty.
On top of everything, Valdez wound up winning a controversial 12 round unanimous decision over Conceicao by the odd scores of 117-110, 115-112, and 115-112.
Many boxing fans disagreed with the decision, believing the judges robbed the Conceicao. In the fight’s aftermath, one of the judges apologized for his wide 117-110 score.
However, the judge revealed that he watched it on television afterward, and he agreed with the other two judges that had scored it 115-112 for Valdez.
The Ring Magazine put it to a vote, and not surprisingly, Valdez lost. Although the two-time Olympian Valdez blamed his positive test on drinking herbal teas during camp, that excuse failed to move the panel.
As such, they felt that ultimately Valdez is responsible for what he puts in his body. So if he’s testing positive for the banned substance phentermine for consuming herbal teas, he’s the one that is responsible, not the tea.
Obviously, it would have greatly helped if Valdez or his team had produced the phentermine-containing herbal team, and that would have gone a long way to solving the issue, but given that he didn’t, he’s now off the Ring Magazine rankings.
“I believe we should follow VADA’s lead on PED testing standards, beginning with their Prohibited List,” said voting panel member Michael Montero to Ring TV. “Remember, they do not distinguish between ‘in competition’ and ‘out of competition’ testing; they go by WADA’s ‘in competition’ panel 24/7/365 (which I believe is the smart way to go).”
Sadly, Valdez hasn’t said anything about giving Conceicao a rematch, as that would obviously go a long way to redeeming him in the eyes of the fans.
With the double whammy of the positive test for phentermine and the controversial decision, Valdez would help himself if he took the high road by giving Conceicao a second fight.
Team Conceicao petitioned the WBC last week, asking them to order a rematch with Valdez due to the combination of his positive test and the confession of the judge that had scored the fight wide for Oscar 117-110.
UNFORTUNATELY, the WBC isn’t expected to order the rematch, which is a negative for Valdez’s career because he can’t show the fans that he’s not the guy they think he is.