In an all out effort to set the record straight and truly dispel rumors and flimsy attempts at damage control, we decided to have a Q&A with Mr. Jacob Hall, an Indiana Boxing Commissioner at the time Roy Jones, Jr. defended his WBC, WBA and IBF titles against Richard "The Destroyer" Hall.

Mr. Jacob Hall has been very gracious, providing us with a sequence of events that will probably stun most readers. I know he shocked yours truly. Furthermore, we requested -and were provided with- several documents which will irrefutably put to rest the real rumors and will prove once and for all the TRUTH.

***To view a copy of the letter sent by the IBF to Richard Hall informing him that he had tested positive for anabolic steroids, click here

***To view a copy of the letter sent by the IBF to Roy Jones, Jr. informing him that he had tested positive for anabolic steroids, click here

We will bring this story to you in three installments. We wish to thank Mr. Jacob Hall for his cooperation and assistance. This is what Mr. Hall and I talked about...

BRC: Mr. Hall, how long have you been a Commissioner in Indiana?

JHALL: We have a three member commission. I have been a Commissioner for thirteen years, and I have served as Chairman in the past.

BRC:May I ask what was your position at the time of the Richard Hall - Roy Jones, Jr. championship fight back in May of 2000?

JHALL: Commissioner.

BRC:This fight was for all the belts, did all the organizations sanction the fight, or how did it work?

JHALL: I actually think it was sanctioned by the IBF. I think that when there is multi-title fight like that, they usually agree that one of the sanctioning bodies will be the lead. I read in Aladdin Freeman's interview that Richard Hall indicated that the WBA "didn't do anything," but I really think it was the IBF...

BRC: Let's move on to both fighters positive tests for anabolic steroids. As you well know there have been several versions of events; the Ripped Fuel version, the sinus medicine, etc. Can you clear it up for the fans? How specific are these tests and can you rule out... let's say the sinus medication, for instance?

JHALL: Not from the information we received. The information we received indicated that Mr. Jones failed the drug test for anabolic steroids. Talking to Roy's attorney, Fred Levin, he indicated that Roy had taken a substance called Ripped Fuel, an over the counter supplement that is not illegal but is an illegal substance according to the IBF and the other sanctioning bodies. He admits that Roy took that. I have no knowledge that he took that or some other substance...

BRC: Let me see if I'm understanding you correctly... You do know that there were anabolic steroids in Roy's system? **(Editor's Note: we are not ignoring the fact that Richard Hall also tested positive, we will come to that in a minute...)

JHALL: Yes.

BRC: You do know that Ripped Fuel could possibly have been the cause of the positive test result?

JHALL: Roy's attorney, Fred Levin said that Roy was taking that. I do not know that (Ripped Fuel) is what he was taking.

BRC: We can't rule the Ripped Fuel out but we can't say that it was the only thing that could have caused Roy to test positive, is that correct?

JHALL: Correct.

BRC: If my understanding of the facts is correct, Richard Hall also tested positive for anabolic steroids.

JHALL: Yes, and in his interview with Aladdin Freeman he didn't mention that he also tested positive and he was probably ten times over what would be a normal amount and Roy Jones was six times over a normal amount. Richard received a letter dated August 2nd, from the IBF indicating to him that he failed the test. He forgot to mention that in the interview.

BRC:I'm glad that you made that observation, because Aladdin Freeman did ask him if he had tested positive for steroids. We are not on a Roy Jones witch hunt here, let's make that clear. We are trying to understand, and this is a problem the fans seem to have with this subject matter, how one fighter can be subject to one set of rules, and another fighter can be subject to... no rules. I realize that this fight happened three years ago, but this was never before put on record. It was put on record for the first time on July 18th when Bragging Rights Corner's Aladdin Freeman posted his piece A Conversation With Richard Hall."

JHALL: Yes, that is true. I have attended Association of Boxing Commissioners meetings and at those meetings with the Commissioners I've indicated that this occurred but ...there was no press there, so this didn't go any further.

BRC: Wait, wait.. let me understand this... When you indicated the occurrence to the Commissioners, what kind of response did you receive?

JHALL: From the other Commissioners?

BRC: Yes, from the other Commissioners...

JHALL: Like I said in one of the interviews, the majority of the states do not do drug testing, so, since they don't do drug testing, there wasn't a lot of support to do much about it, and I don't believe there is a great concern about steroids by Commissioners at the present time, BUT it is an illegal substance.

BRC: There wasn't a lot of support you say??? My question then is... Was anyone shocked to hear your revelation? Did anyone say, we have to go public with this, we have to do something about it, we need to reveal what happened... I mean, was there any of that???

JHALL: Not really, no.

BRC: No? So basically you got "oh ok, let's move on type attitude?"

JHALL: Nobody seemed to be concerned about it and I didn't believe it was my position to have a press conference and reveal that Roy and Richard Hall had tested positive for steroids. It just kinda... nobody said much about it during this period of time.

BRC: Why did you feel that was not your position?

JHALL: I didn't have a law to back up taking any action. I've tried since May 13, 2000, to introduce a law almost like Nevada's where we can do drug testing in Indiana. So far that hasn't gotten passed in our Legislature or in our Rules. The Commissioners passed it and somehow the Professional Licensing Agency hasn't called up and made these rules. We are trying to get these rules passed but I think the big story is that the majority of the Commissions DON'T do drug testing.