RINGSIDE
on that speculation during the investigation: “We want to clarify that Eddy Reynoso serves only as Jaime’s trainer. He is not involved in Jaime’s nutrition, supplementation or medical oversight. Any implication that Reynoso […] bears responsibility is entirely unfounded and unfair.” Unfounded? OK, I’ll go along with that. The responsibility should be squarely on the shoulders of the athlete. This isn’t 2002, when Fernando Vargas could claim that he had no idea he was taking anabolic steroid pills prior to his showdown with Oscar De La Hoya. Ignorance is no
Surace was reinstated in The Ring’s ratings – Munguia was dropped.
Ring’s rankings are about the sport, not the business. In July, The Ring Ratings Panel unanimously voted to remove Munguia from the super middleweight rankings and to reinstate Surace to his placement before their rematch. Surace remains in the rankings, currently at No. 8, as this issue goes to press. Munguia remains out, and he’s not coming back in until he fights a credible opponent without testing positive for PEDs. The Ratings Panel takes a practical stance on such matters, and the bottom line is that Munguia-Surace II was tainted. We don’t have the authority to overturn results, but we’re not going to rank boxers who competed with PEDs in their systems. This isn’t the first time the Ratings Panel has dropped fighters who tested positive for PEDs while the WBC ruled that the same fighters would keep their world titles and remain in their rankings. Luis Nery was stripped of the Ring bantamweight championship after he tested positive for the banned substance zilpaterol following his Ring/WBC title-winning stoppage of Shinsuke Yamanaka in 2017. The WBC allowed Nery to keep their title until he lost it on the scales prior to his 2018 rematch with Yamanaka.
excuse in 2025. As for what’s unfair, ask Yamanaka, Conceicao and Yafai if it was fair that the guys who pummeled them with the aid of performance-enhancing substances got to remain WBC titleholders or in the WBC rankings. Here’s what Surace had to say to The Ring: “I was surprised to learn that Munguia tested positive under the VADA testing program we were both subjected to. Despite the positive test, the situation took an incredibly long time to unfold. He has since come back with a defense and an explanation that, let’s be honest, looks shaky at best. I think nobody is fooled – everyone understands what really happened. “If I had been in the same situation as him, the result of the fight would have been changed a long time ago. What I could control inside the ring, I did – and today, I can walk with my head held high, knowing that I never tested positive in these two fights [with Munguia] or any fight.” Have thoughts on the matter? Share them with The Ring and your comments could be featured in a future issue. Email comeoutwriting@gmail.com.
The Ring dropped Oscar Valdez from the junior lightweight rankings after he tested positive for the banned substance phentermine the week of his WBC title defense against Robson Conceicao in 2021. The local commission (Pascua Yaqui Tribe outside of Tucson, Arizona) allowed the fight to proceed, and the WBC allowed Valdez to keep his belt. And most recently, Francisco Rodriguez Jr. was dropped from The Ring’s flyweight rankings due to testing positive for the banned substance heptaminol after his punishing 12-round decision over Galal Yafai in June. Despite Rodriguez also failing a drug test after an eight-round bout in Texas last December, he remains in the WBC’s flyweight rankings at No. 2 at the time of this writing. The Ring reinstated Yafai in the 112-pound rankings, where he is currently No. 5. Both Munguia and Valdez were trained by Reynoso at the time of their positive PED tests, a fact that did not escape scrutiny from the boxing public. Team Munguia released this statement
18 RINGMAGAZINE.COM
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