‘Money over morals’: Boxing bosses accused of lack of integrity as Canelo stablemate fights on despite positive drugs test

A champion boxer and the sport's authorities have been slammed after he was spared an immediate ban despite PEDs being found in his system just days before a title defense bout.

Oscar Valdez is the super featherweight division's current WBC king, whose stock rose after knocking out fellow Mexican Miguel Berchelt in stunning fashion to snatch away the crown earlier this year.

Promoted by Top Rank, bigger evenings have been predicted for the 30-year-old against the likes of future pound-for-pound great Shakur Stevenson, but the hard-hitter with a KO percentage nearing 80 percent first has a maiden title defense against Brazil's first-ever boxing gold medalist, the unbeaten Robson Conceicao, at the Casino Del Sol in Tucson, Arizona on Saturday.

All seemed to be going well until just two days ago, when it was revealed that the 29-0 brawler had tested positive for the banned substance phentermine.

While this would usually lead to the bout being scrapped, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Athletic Commission shocked the boxing world on Thursday by ruling that that it could still go ahead, with chief Ernie Gallardo declining to explain to ESPN why.

The outlet's sources say that the commission simply "opted to ignore the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association guidelines", and the latest developments have caused outrage in the fight community.

"Money over Morals! This is how we get down in this sport," scoffed former super middleweight ruler Andre Ward, who now works as an ESPN pundit on Top Rank fights.

"Weak move! Yeah... I said it," he added.

WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney also criticized Valdez's camp, while Billy Joe Saunders, who was beaten by the trainer's biggest star, Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez in May, shared a photo of Valdez with the line "not acceptable" after he had been cleared. 

Some social media onlookers have attempted to defend Valdez – who insists he "had no knowledge that he was taking phentermine" and believed the banned substance came from a herbal tea – and claimed that it will not enhance his performance.

"Amazing. That sh*t isn't a PED but tea. It does not help Valdez," suggested a compatriot on Twitter.

"Sober up!," he was told.

"It's not just for weight loss, it's also used as a masking agent for other banned substances and anabolic steroids."

That opinion was echoed by a figure who would know what the issue entails.

"I personally have given athletes phentermine, I know what it does. It is very powerful. It is like methamphetamine," admitted Victor Conte, the BALCO founder who served time behind bars for conspiracy to distribute performance-enhancing drugs.

"You know why it's a performance-enhancing drug? Because it's a central nervous stimulant," he asked and answered. "It accelerates your heart rate. It gives you energy. It gives you endurance. It gives you stamina. It makes it easier to breathe. Your training time to exhaustion would be much longer."

Branding Valdez's excuse "'Dog ate my homework' stuff", Conte said flat out that "the molecular structure of phentermine is not a herbal tea".

"No promoter wants to lose money,"  he added. "This is not in contained supplements. This is designed to help you cut weight. It's an appetite suppressant which is what you're doing when you're cutting weight.

"It's a prescription-only medication. Does he have a doctor's prescription? Let's see it."