Drug Scandal in Germany

Just before Christmas word leaked out through a German media source that heavyweight boxer Erkan Teper had allegedly tested positive for a banned substance after his fight in July when he won the vacant European (EBU) title with a knockout of over British boxer David Price. It also went on to state that Teper had given a positive test after his fight with Frenchman Newfel Ouatah when winning the vacant European Union title in June 2014 but that the German boxing organisation involved, the Bund Deutscher Berufbozers (BDB) which was then an affiliated member of the EBU, had failed to inform the EBU . Initially Teper was given a nine months ban by the BDB after the Ouatah fight which was reduced to six months due to Teper confessing his guilt. Teper fought again in March 2015 beating Johann Duhaupas for the IBF Inter Continental title and his tests then were clear.

The timeline then was that on 21 September the EBU advised the BDB that they had sanctioned a title defence for Teper against Robert Helenius and although DBD were already aware of the outcome of the test after the Price fight they said nothing. On 2 7 November Teper pulled out of the Helenius defence citing an injury and vacated the title. Only on 21 December did the BDB formally advise the EBU that they had suspended Teper.

The situation is now complicated by Teper’s promoter Z! disputing the alleged positive test saying that the testing by the National Anti-Doping Agency was flawed and threatening to sue the BDB for one million Euro and the EBU for half a million if the suspension of Teper is not cancelled immediately. The BDBD’s explanation for not making the results public earlier was that before all processes had been completed they had rushed into alleging that Sam Soliman had tested positive after his fight with Felix Sturm in 2013 and there was an on-going legal action over that. Whether this is a valid reason or not for the Price fight it does not excuse the failure to report the positive test given after the Ouatah fight. The BDB have no excuse for hiding the result of that positive test. What chance is there of cleaning up the sport when the people meant to police the sport collude to cover up cheating.

The EBU has downgraded the DBD from affiliated status to provision member with the situation to be discussed at the next EBU Executive meeting.

Also on-going, but initially unrelated to either fight, is an investigation by the Munich public prosecutor into a raid in April 2015 when a police search of Teper’s car and a sports club where he often trains uncovered quantities of Clenbuterol, testosterone, growth hormone and Methandrosternolone. The Munich prosecutor has been notified of the Ouatah and Price post fight test results and is also looking into those.

As with all other sanctioning bodies they EBU relies upon the home Commission/Board to undertake the testing and they have been badly let down but they face a dilemma. Germany is a big player in the boxing scene in Europe. There is another body which claims to administer boxing in Germany but they are no better. They recently issued some test results NADA paper after a fight although another laboratory and not the NADA carried out the tests.

The EBU have a dilemma. Germany is a huge player in European boxing and the EBU and DBD have worked together for many years. The EBU have to find a way to deal with the deliberate withholding of information on positive tests which punishes the DBD whilst at the same time finding a way to ensure that the DBD fulfils its obligations to the EBU to administer boxing in a more open and honest manner.

The use of performance enhancing drugs is a problem which boxing is not set up to deal with. There is no unified approach. No world-wide data base. Different bodies have different standards, use different testing laboratories/methods, and have different penalties for those

The use of performance enhancing drugs is a problem which boxing is not set up to deal with. There is no unified approach. No world-wide data base. Different bodies have different standards, use different testing laboratories/methods, have different penalties for those caught cheating (the BDB have suspended Teper for one year and the EBU for two years) and do not always honour each other’s suspensions. That’s the depressing truth of boxing’s fractured efforts to control cheating in our sport.