VARGAS COULD BE KO'D TEST POSITIVE FOR BANNED STEROID.

Byline: Michael Rosenthal Assistant Sports Editor 

Boxer Fernando Vargas tested positive for a banned steroid after his knockout loss to Oscar De La Hoya on Sept. 14 in Las Vegas, according to the Nevada Athletic Commission, and could face suspension.

One commission official believes Vargas will be barred from fighting for more than six months if the test result proves accurate.

The second of two specimens is expected to be analyzed early next week, after which the commission would file a formal complaint. Vargas would have 30 days to respond, and a formal hearing would be scheduled.

Vargas, a Camarillo resident, denies he knowingly took any banned substance.

``I want everyone to understand that I would never knowingly put harmful chemicals such as anabolic steroids into my body,'' Vargas, on vacation in Hawaii, said in a prepared statement. ``While I understand why people might be upset upon learning about the test results, I would ask that people refrain from passing judgment until all the facts are uncovered.

``And I wish to make it clear that I do intend to get to the bottom of what happened and uncover the truth.''

Commission chairman Luther Mack, clearly upset, was careful to say Vargas will have his day in court, but he would be surprised if the second test comes back clean.

And, Mack added added, Vargas could be held to a higher standard than an Ultimate Fighting Championship contestant who tested positive for steroids in March and was suspended for six months.

``This is boxing, this is a different type of event,'' Mack said. ``We have to stop this sort of thing. The public pays to go to sporting events, to see the ability of athletes. Especially in boxing, you train hard, work hard and the best man wins.

``Now, we're going down a different road. We want to stop it before it gets out of hand.''

Vargas and his handlers were aware he would be tested for steroids. The commission announced in July it was making a transition from random testing to testing for all major fights.

Vargas voluntarily gave a urine specimen at a Las Vegas health clinic the night of the fight, in which he was knocked out the 11th round. He said he and those close to him were shocked to learn Wednesday night that stanozolol - the steroid for which sprinter Ben Johnson tested positive - was found in his system.

Vargas acknowledged he could've been given the steroid without his knowledge. He took a variety of over-the-counter nutritional supplements he couldn't identify leading up to the fight.

Vargas worked with physical trainer John Philbin - who Vargas' co-manager Rolando Arellano said selected the supplements - and nutritionist Maz Ali before the fight.

``I took what I was given and did not think to question because I relied upon and trusted those around me,'' Vargas said in a two-page letter to Marc Ratner, executive director of the commission.

``I know that steroids were banned and that there would be testing. The others responsible in my camp knew the same.''

Ali denied giving Vargas steroids but also said they could be in the supplements. Also, he said the supplements Vargas was taking were selected before he arrived in camp about a month before the fight.

``Any supplement you buy over the counter doesn't have to be FDA approved,'' Ali said. ``Anything is possible. If someone doesn't list all the ingredients (of a supplement), how can we be held responsible in any way?

``... I don't think anyone would jeopardize Fernando Vargas knowingly.''

Philbin, who left the Vargas camp after the De La Hoya fight because of differences with Ali, returned an e-mail but declined to comment in depth. He said only that ``the truth will come out.''

However, he told maxboxing.com that Ali was ... ``using his own supplements and I have no idea what they consisted of.''

Dr. Tony Daly, who has worked with De La Hoya and many other athletes over the years, said some steroids are available over the counter - such as androstenedione, which Mark McGwire admitted taking. Daly said he wasn't certain whether stanozolol is one them.

However, he doesn't buy the notion Vargas unknowingly took the steroids.

``They had to know he was taking that,'' Daly said. ``There's always an excuse. It's like Ben Johnson. He said, `Someone must've slipped it into my drink.'

``... I think they knew. I worked the Olympics three times. That's all you ever hear: `I didn't know.' ''

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