FROM BASS KING TO THE MAN AT BALCO
San Francisco, CA– If you were to ask me 30 years ago, what would an evening with Victor Conte be like, it would be a night with him playing bass for either Tower of Power or Herbie Hancock. Fast forward some three decades and the name is Victor Conte and his BALCO Labs are the centerpiece of a Steroid scandal that touched every major sport, including boxing. And seeing Steroids, PEDs, and Human Growth Hormone are the topics of recent days, this after the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather fight fell apart due to disagreements over a “testing” process for the aforementioned performance enhancing drugs.
NO BETTER GUEST ON STEROIDS, ETC!
So when I got this opportunity to bring him into the “Ring Talk Worldwide” studios here on the San Francisco waterfront, I jumped at the chance. A lot of hosts are like lawyers in that they want to know the answer to the question before they even ask it, call it professional insecurity or the mindset of a control freak, but I am of a different vein in that I want the show to truly be an act of spontaneity.
CONTE DEBUNKS SOME MYTHS
That being said, let’s start with the issues that Victor Conte debunked during his appearance. First of all, testing for Human Growth Hormone, HGH, an effective test really doesn’t exist. Floyd Mayweather’s camp has asked for Olympic style drug testing. What Conte is quick to point out is that the Olympic officials have tested over 1,000 athletes in recent years, and NOT a single HGH test has ever come back “positive.” Said Conte during background, “There were countries where an entire team was on Steroids and HGH and passed Olympic style testing. Even though we’re not done, if I was Floyd I’d toss the call for Olympic testing after hearing this.
DOES HGH MAKE YOUR HEAD GROW?
When I posed this question to Conte, seeing speculation has been running wild over the Filipino phenom’s head has apparently grown in an unusual manner in recent years. Even I’ve looked at Manny’s head and seen what I thought were the side effects of Human Growth Hormone use, but again, according to the “Mad Scientist” of BALCO Labs fame, that’s not the case. That doesn’t mean Conte is giving Manny Pacquiao has a clean slate, as even Conte feels that the ascension in weight and the fact that Manny’s chiseled is, “Suspicious.”
ANNOUNCED TESTING IS A JOKE!
The subject of testing, how long a Steroid or PED stays in your body, Conte says that some oral drugs can clear the body in four or five days. On the testing of boxers in Nevada, Conte, who now runs S.N.A.C., Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning, Conte said the testing system in place is a joke. “To announce when they are giving the tests, this allows somebody to run a cycle of PEDs and have anything detectable out of their system come test time. “You can’t have a fair testing system if the athletes know when they are going to be tested,” said Conte.
DID STEROIDS ENABLE SHANE TO BEAT OSCAR?
Speaking of the Nevada testing, Conte questioned the fact that the Nevada State Athletic Commission allegedly destroyed Shane Mosley’s test sample and results, this after he narrowly defeated Oscar De La Hoya in 2003. When I asked Conte if he felt the “PEDs” Mosley took was the reason he won, he answered. “Yes, especially in the later rounds, Shane was able to outwork Oscar.” I then asked Conte straight up, did Shane Mosley know he was taking steroids? “Shane knew exactly what he was doing, he’s admitted as much under oath in a deposition. I’ll see if my lawyer will allow me to send it to you, but there it is as clear as can be, Shane admitting to using EPO.
BACK TO THE PACMAN
As for the cloud surrounding Manny Pacquiao,, Conte did feel that the rise in weight sans any water gain is “suspicious.” He explained the way steroids work is that they allow you to train harder, but most importantly they allow your muscles to recover at a much faster pace than normal. The athlete is able to train longer, train harder, and recover faster. According to Conte, you would want to take steroids or PED in training and then stop about 14 days out, that’s if you wanted to cheat and then beat the testing system.
EQUAL SIZES DON’T MEAN MUCH HERE
Conte put forth a clear example of steroid’s advantages. “If you have two guys on the line in football and they are both 300 lbs., the guy using the PEDs is the guy that will be standing and the guy that didn’t will be on his back play after play.”
PEOPLE IN CONTROL DON’T WANT PROPER TESTS
When I asked Conte what could be done to insure sports are played on a level field per se? He said he didn’t think that would ever happen because the people in charge of these individual sports don’t want to mess with the flow of cash. “Major League Baseball said they were going to test up to 30% of the players during the off season, as this is when they would be using steroids, etc. But they only tested 5% of the players. Does that sound like Major League Baseball wants to have a drug free sport?”
THE VICTOR CONTE “RING TALK” APPEARANCE
The entire Sunday night edition of “Ring Talk” was spent with Victor Conte. That show (1-10-10) will be available in Podcast and on the audio player here at RingTalk.com by 4 PM ET today.
VICTOR CONTE’S WEBSITE
To take a look at Victor’s lineup of products at Sports Nutrition Advanced Conditioning go to Click For Victor Conte’s SNAC Website
Pedro Fernandez