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In Rusty’s Corner

Rusty Rubin is a veteran boxing writer

“Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio?”

No one should be shocked that Ricky Hatton has admitted to a drug problem. Well, maybe freely admitting it, would be the surprise. Then again, it could be another cry for help.

I’ve long-stated that boxing is a microcosm of our society. Sports in general can be described that way. And as part of our society, sports are also plagued by drug abuse.

We don’t have to look back to see other professionals who are tied to drugs, particularly in the field of entertainment. But while these actors/actresses do the drug trip, for the most part, the only people they tend to hurt is themselves. It’s their lives and if they want to self-destruct, who are we to interfere?

Yeah, I know there have been many incidents of innocent folks hurt or even killed by these under the influence, but is that really comparable? It’s not like the public worries about wasting good money on a movie, like they may do on pay-per-view boxing.

If the crowd pays hard-earned money to watch fighters, don’t these combatants owe them the respect of performing their best, without performance enhancing drugs?

Although I’ve been blessed to have been able to cover other sports over the years, my major interest is still in boxing. I write this column because as a long time boxing scribe, I also vote for both the World Boxing Hall of Fame and the International Boxing Hall of Fame. I don’t want my vote wasted on fighters who can’t fight without the help of steroids.

I don’t have any figures on how many fighters use steroids, hopefully very few. Still, boxing, like so-many other major sports, has had its’ share of drug problems. To my mind, there is no place for any performance enhancing drugs in our society. If you can’t make it on your own, you shouldn’t get credit for performing ‘under the influence!’ And you sure don’t deserve my vote for any boxing Hall of Fame.
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