What Are the Rules of Steroid Use in Boxing?

Boxing has long since banned the use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. It's important in a sport in which participants are using their strength to try to inflict damage upon one another. With no unified national sanctioning body, the rules for boxing sometimes vary from state to state, making them difficult for people, even professional boxers, to understand.

  1. Testing After the Fight

    • Tests for steroids are usually performed immediately after a fight concludes. This post-fight drug test is performed to ensure that fighters do not take any substances before or during the fight that can improve their performance.

    No Testing During Training

    • There are no additional mandatory steroid or performance enhancer tests leading up to a fight during training. This has left the door open for some criticisms on a lack of accountability in the sport's steroid testing policies.

    State-to-State Suspensions

    • Without unified rules throughout the entire sport, it is often difficult to establish penalties and suspensions. However, in the United States, when one state suspends a fighter, the suspension usually holds in other states.

    Suspension Length

    • Suspensions due to using steroids or other drugs typically last six months or longer.

    Fights Determined as No Contests

    • If a fighter wins a match but fails the post-fight drug test, that win is usually turned to a No Contest. A No Contest is not a win, loss or tie but shows that a fight did take place.