Off the back of his technical knockout (TKO) loss to David Morrell on December 16th, Sena Agbeko addressed certain suspicions surrounding a drug test clause in his bout contract that wasn’t adhered to by the opposite party. Morrell, a PBC fighter in all but name, was apparently not drug tested for his fight, which, compounded with the fact that the Minnesota Office Of Combative Sports does not require drug tests for combat fights, only drives up suspicion of potential steroid use.
Sena Agbeko (28-3, 22 KO’s) asserted during a post-match interview that both fighters had signed documents for WADA [World Anti-Doping Agency] testing, yet the super middleweight contender also alleged that neither he nor David Morrell (10-0, 9 KO’s) had actually tested throughout the preparation of their match.
“We both signed documents to be drug tested by WADA, and none of that happened; there was no testing by the commission before the fight and after the fight,” Agbeko told FightHype.
“They [unclarified] explicitly stated the commission was not required to do the testing and that they chose not to do any testing for this fight.
“I really believe there is something up in that regard. He [Morrell] was the better man tonight. I just wish I had more rounds to showcase my skill and show that I belong at the world level.“
Agbeko’s statements surrounding the lack of testing aren’t new, as he had alluded to this earlier this year. Agbeko had been set to face Morrell in April of this year, but circumstances surrounding the validity of medical reports produced by Morrell’s promoter PBC eventually forced Agbeko off the card to be replaced by Brazilian contender Yamaguchi Falcao (24-2-1, 10 KO’s).
PBC, officially recognized as a management company but unofficially regarded as a boxing promoter, has had inquiries about drug testing in the past. Victor Conte, a sports scientist/nutritionist that had been convicted for giving steroids to athletes in the past, is now an advocate for anti-doping and has highlighted cases for potential doping in boxing several times, most prominently Conor Benn’s case with UKAD.
In regards to this situation, Conte also had his own commentary.
“In my opinion, this Sena Agbeko claim of NO drug testing for a main event with David Morrell on Showtime Boxing further suggests a lack of concern for the health and safety of boxers by PBC/TGB Promotions,” Conte responded to Agbeko’s suspicions surrounding the drug testing for his fight with Morrell.
“VADA testing is needed to promote clean boxing and reduce such suspicions.“
While Sena Agbeko highlighted his concerns about drug testing concerning his own match and never explicitly referred to the PBC or its affiliated promotion of TGB Promotions as an involved party in this case, Victor Conte seems to allude to the PBC’s involvement given his latest statements.
TGB Promotions is officially listed as one of the promoters for this event, but as has been explained several times in the past, PBC can be considered the main organizer of this event and likely retains the most control over aspects such as drug testing.
