Very few people are aware of the steroid and drug culture in South African boxing.
However, this has been rectified by Clinton van der Berg who reveals all about South African boxing and other sports in his recently published book Guns and Needles – A journey into the heart of South African sport’s steroid and drug culture.
In the introduction Van der Berg writes “The world of steroids periodically entered and drifted out of my life - rugby has struggled to shake its image as a haven for, but the habit persists elsewhere too- in boxing.
In the chapter headed “The Red-Light District of Sport” the author covers drugs and steroids in boxing.
One of the most publicised cases was that of Fransie Botha who was credited with winning the IBF heavyweight belt on 9 December 1995, on points against Axel Schulz.
However, his fight against Schulz was declared a no-contest some months later after he failed a drug test and nandrolone was found in his system.
Botha’s camp claimed that he had been prescribed the steroid for an arm injury. However, the IBF vetoed his claim.
In 2011 featherweight Matima Molefe was tested and traces of Nandrolone showed up in a urine test, after his winning fight for the vacant South African featherweight title against Simphiwe Tom. He was stripped of the title and banned for two years.
In March 2010 one of South Africa’s most talented fighters Ali Funeka lost in a return fight against Joan Guzman for the vacant IBF lightweight belt in Las Vegas and three months later the NSAC announced that he had tested positive for a banned diuretic.
This was a most unfortunate case as on the flight to Las Vegas Funeka took several hydrochlorothiazide tablets, apparently to help ease swelling of his legs from the trip.
The NSAC suspended Funeka for nine months and fined him $35000. He was gutted as the drug had been given to him by a doctor who was not aware that it was a banned substance.
In November 2018 IBO cruiserweight champion Kevin Lerena found himself in the crosshairs when the WBC tweeted, BREAKING NEWS: Boxer Kevin Lerena tested positive in a test by @ Vada Testing done on October 18, in Johannesburg, South Africa. VADA, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, was launched in late 2011 to offer and promote effective anti-doping programmes in boxing and MMA.
He tested positive for clomiphene, a drug used for fertility treatment, but also widely known to boost performance and cover up doping.
Lerena explained that he had worked too long and hard to throw away his career by doping and said " If I'm guilty of anything it's carelessness and after shoulder surgery, he had taken a variety of medicines to assist recovery. His then wife, Gina had a prescription that contained the metabolite and he assumed he had mistakenly taken one of her tablets.
However, after much talk, nothing came of this.
In 2016 Johnny Muller met Micki Nielsen from Denmark at Emperors Palace and after a good scrap, Nielsen won on points. Four months later he was back in South Africa losing to Kevin Lerena.
Only two months later SAIDS reported that Nielsen had tested positive for steroids after his fight against Muller and confirmed a four-year ban.
However, this did not matter as the ban only applied to South Africa.
The author also mentions that in 1992 he travelled to Sun City to watch Jackie “Pressure Cooker” Gunguluza the Rastafarian from Mdantsane in his challenge against American John John Molina for the vacant IBF junior lightweight title.
Several of those who went into Gunguluza’s dressing room were shocked when there was a haze of marijuana smoke while he was warming up on the pads. Gunguluza was stopped in four rounds.
Twelve years after Gunguluza’s loss to Molina, Gabula “Slashing Tiger” Vabaza was tested positive for traces of dagga (cannabis) and banned for six months.
Thembelani Nxoshe won the vacant South African flyweight title with a seventh stoppage over Mfundo Gwayana at the Orient Theatre in East London and less the six months later he was tested positive for marijuana.
In 2004 Vusi Malinga was stripped of the South African bantamweight title and suspended for two years for testing positive for testosterone and his brother Patrick was also banned for two years for the same offence.
Their father and trainer Jabu, was also suspended for twelve months by BSA, taking the view that he was in control of his son’s preparation and should share the responsibility for the guilt of his sons.
Jared “The Storm” Lovett from the south of Johannesburg who turned professional in 2008 was a prospect at the time was tested for a prohibited substance – metabolites of boldenone an anabolic substance and never fought again after his fight against Tommy Oosthuizen.
In 2018 Tommy Oosthuizen was removed from the WBC ratings for not enrolling in their anti-doping programme. In the same year he was sentenced to seventeen months behind bars for dealing in drugs.
On 23 February 2018 Ruanne Visser stopped Osborne Machimana at the Emerald Casino in Vanderbijlpark in the seventh round, to become the South African heavyweight champion, except that he wasn’t – officially.
Soon after the win Visser was tested positive for stanozolol and in August received an email from SAIDS advising him of the violation.
His strong legal team filed an urgent application against SAIDS in the Cape High Court to stop the case proceeding and the charges were withdrawn.
However, as per their rights, enshrined in the World Anti-Doping Code, Wada lodged an appeal against the acquittal to the CAS in Switzerland.
Visser’s legal team challenged the appointment of the CAS arbitrators in the Swiss Federal Tribunal, but they were unsuccessful in preventing the case from being heard in the CAS.
In February 2020, SAIDS confirmed that CAS had upheld Wada’s appeal against the acquittal of the doping violation.
Rather sadly Visser was stripped of title and the bout was declared as a no contest as did some of his other fights.
Barend van Rooyen was tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide (a diuretic for weight loss) and its metabolites as well as chlorothiazide (also a diuretic), after stopping Yanga Phetani in the sixth round of a clash for the vacant South African middleweight title in Kempton Park Indoor Arena on 2 December 2017.
The fight was declared a no contest and he was stripped of the title and banned for two years.
The author got the idea of the book some 15 years ago and with the assistance of several people and many hours and days of research he has produced an enlightening read about the steroid and drug culture in South African sports, a subject that many South African sports lovers are not aware of.