Donaire puts Conte in his corner

Bantamweight world champion Nonito Donaire is being groomed by promoter Bob Arum to follow the footsteps of fellow Filipino Manny Pacquiao and make an ambitious climb from his current 118-pound class to as high as the 140-pound junior welterweight class. And who is in Donaire's corner to help him manage the process?

None other than the notorious Victor Conte of BALCO fame, past purveyor of performance-enhancing drugs to world-class athletes. In 2005, Conte pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute steroids and money laundering and served a four-month prison sentence. But now, Conte not only said he's gone straight, but also he's working to help bring about random blood-testing in boxing.

Arum said he understands the skepticism, but he takes Conte at his word. "I had a talk with Victor, and he assured me that he's doing everything on the up and up," Arum said recently. "Given the past history, you have to believe that. He would have to be insane to mess around when all the eyes are on him."

Conte's association with Donaire began quite by accident more than a year ago when they met at a bank in the Bay Area suburb of San Mateo. It turned out that Conte's current nutritional supplement business is located on the same block as the gym where Donaire trains in nearby San Carlos, Calif.

Now, Donaire, who is scheduled to make the final defense of his WBC and WBO 118-pound titles against Omar Narvaez of Argentina on Oct. 22 at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, is following Conte's regimen for hypoxic training, which simulates high-altitude training. That method has been used by swimmers for years.

Asked if he believes Donaire can go up as high in weight successfully as Arum envisions, Conte said, "It's hard to tell. I think he would be really strong at 126. Lightweight [135] is downstream. You crawl before you run, and I think we need to see how he does at 122 and then 126. He's got a lot of power. That much we know."

If Donaire carries his power up as effectively, it might raise the same suspicions that Floyd Mayweather has said he has about Pacquiao. Mayweather accused Pacquiao of using PEDs in a career in which he has fought from 106 and won a title in the 154-pound class. Pacquiao has denied it and said he would agree to random blood testing.

In fact, the highest Pacquiao has ever weighed in at for any fight was 1453/4 when he fought Joshua Clottey last year at welterweight. Compare that to Mayweather, who fought at 106 as an amateur and has weighed as much as 150 when he defeated Oscar De La Hoya for a 154-pound title four years ago.

"Am I suspicious that Manny Pacquiao has been using stuff for a significant period in his career?" Conte said. "The answer is yes. But he's not the only one. You need to be suspicious of others, including Mayweather, who has moved up from wherever he was. It's great that Floyd put this issue on the table for discussion. It's a much-needed debate."

Conte theorized that any fighter who takes off as much time between fights as Mayweather easily could use PEDs and then taper off well before his next fight and avoid detection.

So, Conte has been working with Dr. Margaret Goodman and Dr. Flip Homansky, two well-known ringside physicians in Nevada, to develop the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA), to conduct relatively low-cost year-round random blood testing for all fighters who join the pool.

Mentioning the names of Donaire and other fighters such as Andre Ward, Andre Berto and Zab Judah, who have agreed to submit to such testing, Conte said, "We hope to have it together soon. We've got the fighters lined up that will participate, and we're just waiting to work out some of the legalities."

If it happens, it would mark a new direction for Conte and for boxing.