Dr. Margaret Goodman -a practicing neurologist since 1988- has been the Neurological Consultant to the Nevada State Athletic Commission for over ten years, and has served as ringside physician for more than 450 professional boxing and kickboxing cards.

Because the state of Nevada believes that the safety and health of the contestants must be of paramount importance, the state legislature created a Medical Advisory Board to assist and advise the Commission. In a tremendous show of confidence Nevada's Governor Guinn appointed the Las Vegas neurologist as chairperson of said Board.

Hoping to impart knowledge on topics such as the use of steroids and other banned substances, much needed mandatory testing and other issues of importance to the sport of boxing, we solicited Dr. Goodman's input and expertise. It is part of our continued effort to sort out the TRUTH.

This is what we spoke about...

QUESTION: Please tell us some of the issues that concern you the most regarding the safety of boxers...

DR. GOODMAN: Using drugs that are legally prescribed that have potential great harm to fighters, that fighters aren't aware of that they shouldn't be taking, that doctors may even prescribe not understanding what a boxer does for a living. There are many hidden dangers that face fighters. You run into the problem where every state has different regulations about what kind of drug tests they do, even if they do drug tests... and this isn't to blame those individual states... but many states are behind as far as enacting regulations which would allow them to do drug testing and even the states that do have drug testing don't have comprehensive drug screens that cover all kind of potentially dangerous drugs and substances that can be performance enhancers and performance inhibitors in various ways, not just the steroids. The steroids are just the tip of the iceberg.

QUESTION: Do you believe that steroid use is a real problem in the sport of boxing?

DR. GOODMAN: Do I believe that steroid use is rampant in boxing? I do not, but the problem is that boxers themselves don't get educated on what is and isn't safe enough to take and too many boxers are trying to take shortcuts and use what they might think of as high tech modes of getting in shape and yes, everybody has to move on what's new in science and nutrition but there are limitations, and unfortunately, you listen to the wrong people and you do yourself a disservice and those disservices can be lethal.

QUESTION: Is the issue of steroids use important? Is is something that should concern all parties involved in the sport of boxing?

DR. GOODMAN: The steroids issue is very important. I don't know how many states in the country test for steroids; it is very expensive and it does take a great deal of urine, and I know that sounds like ok, what's the big deal? But it's hard to get a fighter to pee a lot, specially after a fight... The other issue that's important is when do steroids get out of the system, depending on what kind of steroids you are using. Some anabolic steroids tend to go out of the system very quickly because they are water soluble, other steroids can stay in the system for over six months because they are stored in your fat and as you expel that from either fat loss or breakdown of fats then they come out in your urine. Steroids use is a very exact science on how to make sure it doesn't show up in your system by the time you are drug tested, and that is a very scary thing, because even if Commissions do their duty testing fighters it's possible that the drug is out of the fighter's system by the time they are tested for the steroids.

QUESTION: Do steroids give a fighter an unfair advantage?

DR. GOODMAN: Steroids have a lot of issues, in that not only are they dangerous to take but they do give someone an unfair advantage. It may not be the advantage that would help a boxer, obviously they are not going to help his chin, but there still are advantages.

The main advantage of anabolic steroids to a boxer is in training. It enables the fighter to train longer, to train harder, to train more times in a day, it allows very quick recovery for your muscles and that's a problem. Does it help in a 36 minutes, 12 rounds fight? Probably to some degree, but maybe not to the degree where it would change a decision that much. Can it give someone increased power? Certain kinds of steroids do and certain kinds of steroids don't.

There is the psychosomatic aspect of it, where they may not make you feel stronger, but in your mind it makes you thing you are, and that's an aspect too with anything that a fighter does. You know how much of the game is mental, so you have to worry about that as well.

In essence it can make you get through a fight better because you've been able to train more -and you get stronger just from training. It really gives you -in some instances- a false sense of security while predisposing you to a whole group of risks that you shouldn't have when you step into a ring.

QUESTION: Any other issues that make steroids medically dangerous to fighters?

DR. GOODMAN: The other thing that's bad with steroids, is that they can weaken your blood vessels and predispose you to bleeding, and that's the last thing you'd want to do as a boxer, not just (bleeding) on your face but in your brain. They can have extensive dangers besides liver failure, liver cancer, heart failure, kidney disease... they can be exceptionally dangerous for a fighter but people get talked into them, and they get talked into the fact that.. well, I'm going on and off them, I'm not on them all the time, they cycle them, they cycle between the longer acting and the shorter acting, I mean, it's scary what's out there. But what's even more scary to me -and this is beyond the scope of what you're doing- but there are a lot of drugs that are getting pushed on fighters for various reasons... To give them more energy, to lessen their fatigue, and those things can also be very dangerous to a fighter and dangerous to their brain.

QUESTION: What kind of drugs are you talking about?

DR. GOODMAN: Well, believe it or not, there are drugs that are almost like amphetamines but aren't really amphetamines.. They are drugs that are used for attention deficit disorders that boxers are now using, and I know they are using them... You know there is a group of boxers that maybe don't have the education skills that some other fighters have... maybe they are getting older, and maybe their body is more fatigued, and on top of that, and they are getting conned into thinking that they can act quicker, think faster, if they take these drugs. You top that with a doctor prescribing them and fighters will use things like that...

Amphetamines can also predispose your brain to bleeding and blood vessels, they can predispose you to seizures... Ephedra is very similar, it is a stimulant... Even something like aspirins and Advil, I see fighters take them all the time, and it's illegal in our state, and they should be illegal everywhere because they predispose you to bleeding. That's a simple over the counter drug, but it can be lethal to a boxer, and if they don't have someone telling them that they shouldn't take these things, perhaps, you know.. steroids can be the least of their problem.

But steroids are not fair, it's wrong and there needs to be uniform testing for them. If there is anything that came out of the last meeting of the Association of Boxing Commissions meeting is.. there was some discussion on how why some states don't do drug testing and there are all kinds of excuses, but we are at a point in the sport that people wonder -particularly a lot of people in boxing- wonder why anyone would suggest federal regulation of the sport. Well, just what you said, it's the lack of uniform health and safety standards is a good enough reason for anybody. I hope that after this last meeting... and you have to worry because the ABC is a good organization but it doesn't have the power or the control, all they can do is make recommendations and unfortunately many states just won't follow those recommendations but I hope that within the next six months there will be at least uniform drug testing standards. It's a tough issue, it's not a new issue, it's a long standing problem.

People have to have a conscience and unfortunately people get so caught on in their day to day work, and a lot of people on Commissions, including our Commission, we don't get paid for the work that we do. But you have to have a conscience and look at that individual fighter that is coming to your state and say what is this person at risk for? What is their medical history? What can I do to make sure that they have a safe fight in my state and by the time they go to the next state they are going to be safe as well... and that comes with education.

QUESTION: What do you know about Ripped Fuel and is this something commonly used by boxers?

DR. GOODMAN:I think that Ripped Fuel used to be used a lot... Ripped Fuel is illegal in our state; it's illegal because it has Ephedra in it... Anyone that take Ephedra, it doesn't have to be a boxer, you or I, would be placing themselves at risk of a heart attack or a stroke. When you combine that with someone having to undergo the extreme regiment that a boxer has to undergo, and top that with being in the ring even for four rounds, putting all that stress on the body, you are really setting yourself up for a serious problem.

QUESTION: Dr. Goodman it seems like to me, from our conversation, that things get done in the state of Nevada because the people involved, the Commissioners, WANT to get them DONE...

DR. GOODMAN: The bottom line Elisa is if your regulations don't have it, CHANGE THE REGULATIONS! This is ridiculous, and that's what's wrong in the entire sport itself, that everybody keeps pointing the finger at someone else... They need to point the finger at themselves and say, what can I do to fix this, and the one thing that we felt we could do was add steroids testing.

One thing that we are going to be doing over the next few months in our state, and I am going to be working with the ABC to do as well as with the Medical Committee of the ABC, is to really expand our drug screens, because like I said there are a lot of medications, medicines that are used sometimes by psychiatrists, family practitioners, neurologists, that are given to boxers that could interfere with their ability to perceive pain, that's a bad drug to be on too...

We need to really come into the 21st Century with all the new drugs that are available to fighters, unfortunately, that could be extremely harmful for them, and harmful for the opponent.

You have to look at the reality of boxing, the downside of boxing is that a fighter really only has so many fights in him or her, and your body can only take so much punishment, and obviously the object is to not get hit but when you become "Superman" or think that you are "Superman" from taking substances that are illegal including substances like steroids, it will give you a false sense of security, lull you into thinking you can withstand more punishment than you are able to withstand, and sooner or later that catches up with you.

BRAGGING RIGHTS CORNER wishes to express heartfelt thanks to Dr. Goodman for a very clear and matter of fact lesson on the dangers of using steroids and other drugs, some as simple as a common aspirin. But more importantly, we have walked away from this interview with a distinct conviction that the lady doctor who has become a Las Vegas boxing icon, cares a great deal about the safety of all fighters, and without question... believe this, she does have a CONSCIENCE. I hope that the conviction will spread... and quickly! Boxing cannot afford to continue to look away or to sweep issues of this gravity under the rug, hoping they will disappear.