Back up Tua drug claim, boxing body tells Barry

Kevin Barry backs his view. File Picture / Kenny Rodger

New Zealand boxing's controlling body has told David Tua's former manager Kevin Barry to "put up or shut up" about his claim that he gave the boxer a banned drug.

Barry has claimed in a signed affidavit that in 2000 he arranged for a Los Angeles doctor to help counter Tua's weight problems by regularly administering ephedrine, which is a banned drug.

A liquid formula was developed that masked the presence of ephedrine in Tua's urine tests.

Tua has denied that he knowingly took the "liquid speed", and dismissed the claims as part of Barry's dirty tactics campaign to sully his name and reputation.

Boxing officials are furious at the ongoing spat between the pair, with New Zealand's National Boxing Federation president Gary McCrystal saying he is sick of the drama.

"From a professional boxing point of view we can do without all this," he said. "It's tainting the whole sport."

Mr McCrystal described Barry's claims as "pie in the sky".

If any illegal drug-taking took place in New Zealand, police would need to first prove there was a case to answer. Until that happened the professional boxing federation would not be stepping in to conduct its own inquiry.

"These are serious allegations. Barry should either lay a complaint with the police or shut up," he said.

If the alleged doping took place in the United States, it was a matter for that country's justice system. Furthermore, if the allegations proved true, it would need to be determined whether both Tua and his management acted illegally, or whether only one party was at fault, said Mr McCrystal.

Tua was reported in the Sunday News yesterday as saying he had regularly taken a substance called "thermo fusion", but was not aware it contained ephedrine. He said if he had known the product contained banned drugs he would never have taken it.

Barry had breached his trust and "should have known better", Tua said.

Barry wanted the affidavit to be part of court evidence in an ongoing contract wrangle he has with Tua, but the Auckland High Court judge ruled it was irrelevant to the legal battle over finances between Tua and his former management team, Barry and Martin Pugh.

Last week Barry and Pugh lost the latest courtroom bout.

Mr McCrystal said it was unlikely Barry would ever work in the sport in this country again as it was accepted in boxing circles that no Polynesian boxer would allow Barry to work for them.

The Sunday News quoted Marc Ratner, the executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, as saying he would alert Nevada's Attorney-General once he had "sighted" Barry's affidavit.

Ratner reportedly said it was "uncharted waters" for a boxing trainer or manager to admit to giving his charge a banned substance.

Chris Kenny, vice-president of the sport's amateur body, Boxing New Zealand, said his organisation had nothing to do with Kevin Barry "or his mate Pugh" and it was unlikely it would have anything to do with them in the future.

"My leanings are toward Tua. He did the fighting and earned the money and they just went along and enjoyed the ride."

Mr Kenny said he believed Tua was innocent. "While he's not terribly sophisticated, David is a pure and clean-living guy. It would not enter into his thinking in my opinion."

Boxing New Zealand no longer investigated professional fighters, so proving or disproving the allegations would be a long-shot.

It would be hard to coordinate an investigation, as there were two or three professional bodies based in Auckland, mirroring the "fragmented" situation of the sport's governance in the States.

He doubted that US authorities would take things seriously until Tua signed a major fight contract.

Attempts to contact Mr Barry for comment yesterday were not successful.

He is believed to be in Las Vegas, where he trains boxers.