Controversial boxer Francois Botha has revealed that he took a cortisone shot for an injury to his arm in preparation for his fight with Joseph Parker on Thursday night.
Cortisone is a widely used anti-inflammatory drug that can be used to mask anabolic steroids, according to Joseph Parker's trainer Kevin Barry.
"We all know that cortisone is one of the preferred masking agents for sportsmen who are taking anabolic steroids," Barry says.
The 44-year-old South African, who has a history of allegations over using performance enhancing drugs, underwent a public drug test today.
Earlier this year, Botha was accused of using banned substances before fighting Sonny Bill Williams. He was also stripped of his IBF heavyweight title in 1995 after testing positive for the steroid nandrolone.
"I still got stripped of a title but I still got recognised as the champion," Botha says.
"Unknowingly the guy gave it to me and I look up to the guy.
"I never cheated. I'm telling you the stuff was given to me because I had all these injuries in my arm."
Botha also expressed upset at the drug allegations made by Williams' manager Khoder Nasser.
"This is very serious allegations, I could get banned from boxing, my career should be over if [they] find anything," Botha said.
"When I heard about how he's smearing my name in the media I said, 'Ok this is bullshit, now this is going to stop', I'm going to say what he's trying to do. That's why I brought that bribery story out."
Fight promoter Dean Lonergan said today's press conference was to make it clear to the media that Duco promotions were putting a clean fight.
"There was a whole lot of speculation around the Sonny Bill Williams fight and we wanted to make it clear in the media's mind that we put on the cleanest possible fight we can," Lonergan says.
"We are drug testing before the fight - as in urine and bloods - and also drug testing after the fight to make sure no speed or pseudoephedrine's been taken."
Watch the video for Andrew Gourdie's report.
3 News
source: newshub archive
