Steroids in Boxing: Dr. George Exposes Shane Mosley
Interview by Dan Hernandez
“Shane (Mosley) used to be that way, but when his wife came into the picture, everything became money, and everything became ‘Let’s cut corners.’”--Dr. George
Dr. George Del Junco is a friend of mine. This friendship began when a mutual friend, Brian Washington of the Big Bear Training Center in Big Bear, California, introduced us over a year ago. Brian informed me that if I wanted the “real” scoop on all things boxing, Dr. George was the man to see. An informative and entertaining interview developed from that meeting and a strong personal relationship has been established.
I learned that Dr. George, as he is referred to in boxing circles, speaks from his heart, without reservation, about which he has spent a good part of his 59 years. That is boxing, boxers, and all aspects of the sport, he spent many years working with, training, and advising such notable boxers as Shane Mosley, Oscar De La Hoya, Chicanito Hernandez, Paul Gonzalez, and a score of others. Instrumental in making headgear mandatory in all Olympic Boxing since and including the 1984 Olympics, Dr. George, a former professional football prospect for the Los Angeles Ram Football Team and former chiropractor too many star athletes and entertainers, called me to throw himself in the ring to aide in the battle Chicanito Hernandez is having with cancer.
While discussing the attributes of Hernandez and his honest approach to boxing and life, the conversation developed into an indictment of Shane Mosley, who seemingly developed muscles overnight, the travesty of most of the Oscar De La Hoya affiliated boxing promotions, and the general state of boxing. In the following interview, the doctor places himself on the firing line and says he is ready and willing to face any adversity that may develop from his stating his feelings with such candor.
DH: Would you tell me how you feel about Chicanito?
I had the privilege to work with Chicanito and his brothers and also his dad, way back when I was at the Great Western Forum. Throughout the years I was able to go to the gym where he would train, he would spar and he was one of the hardest working fighters that I ever worked with that I ever knew. And, he was always a gentleman, inside and outside of the ring. He was a very respectful individual, very low-key, very humble. I believe he has been a tremendous role-model from the South-Central part of Los Angeles, he really loves kids and I never heard him say a bad word or a bad thing.
He has always been true to his sport and true to his championship style of living. I met his family a couple of times at different little gatherings and he and they have always been outstanding. It’s a shame that life is what it is and we all have to go through that same path at one time or another, but I would like to see how we could help someone like him to see if he could get well, whether it be with City of Hope assisting him or another big hospital that does cancer research.
I remember vividly the wars that he and Shane Mosley would have in the ring while in training. People would come from miles to see these two, and this was just sparring, they would help each other get ready for fights and championship bouts and so on. You know you see somebody like Chicanito, who struggled to make weight, who struggled to be the best that he could be and then talking about Mosley. It is sad that Shane actually used steroids to cheat and get ahead of the other fighters, specifically for the second De La Hoya fight. I remember very clearly going up to camp to do my job up there. As a second, I didn’t just work the corner, I was also a chiropractor for Shane, I massaged him and helped him with his nutrition. I would him adjustments, help him withy running, and every aspect of his training. I was always there, his shadow.
DH: How long did you work with Shane?
Off and on, for about 23 years, since he was 8 years old.
DH: Were there others working with him also?
Well, when we turned pro, there was just Jack (Shane’s father), and myself. It wasn’t until 1997 when we fought for the title against Phil Holliday, that Cassius Green came on to be the cut man, I had been the cut man and second prior to that. So here we were, the second fight against Oscar De La Hoya, Mosley had already suffered two losses against Vernon Forrest, and I guess Shane was insecure about his power and his ability to stay in the ring. There was another conditioning coach that was brought in by his wife, a young man that was in his own rights, a track star…a running star. This man was then doing more things with Shane and I was more like in the background. When I reported to camp for the second De La Hoya fight, I noticed right away, my first visual of Shane, was that he was much, much, bigger than when I had seen him 4 to 6 weeks earlier.
I said, “Shane, what are you doing, you’ve gotten so big.”
In the back of my mind, I had a feeling it was steroids. I have been around football players and weight lifters, all my life, so I knew right away what had happened, but I questioned him anyway. Mosley responded, “I’ve been lifting weights.” He then puffed up and showed me his muscles in his chest and I said, “Hey, don’t lie to me, that’s not from weights. You might have been doing some weights, but you’ve been shooting steroids.” Right away he went from the sweet mild-mannered Shane Mosley, I had known, to a very aggressive, very uncharacteristic person, using foul language, which he never did before, and told me that, “It was none of my business, you didn’t do it so don’t worry about it.” I told him in reply that, “People have a notion that people by your side are the one’s doing things with you. And since I’ve been with you all these years, anyone might think that I’ve been giving you steroids instead of the B12 that I’ve been giving you for the last 12 years.” Shane responded with, “I told you, you didn’t do it, it has nothing to do with you, it’s none of your business. Don’t get involved.” And I walked away.
That particular camp, I was used very sparingly and even at that I witnessed terrible mood swings in Shane, to his father, to other people in the camp, and to myself. When I arrived in Las Vegas, there were a lot of problems made by his wife, Jin, being his new manager and calling all the shots. I didn’t even have a room at the MGM, and as you know in boxing, the Team stays together. When I went to register at the MGM, Jin told me that I was down at the Barbary Coast and when I told her that I didn’t have a car since I flew in and that I didn’t know where the Barbary Coast was, she said, “You can walk!”
I’ve never forgotten those words and I went upstairs to the 29th floor to speak with Shane and I asked him, “What was going on here, for the last 20 years I have stayed close to you at all times, and all of a sudden, I don’t even have a room in the same hotel.” Shane told me, “My wife is the manager, you do as you’re told and that’s it, you can leave.” It was very harsh and very cold.
I found my way to the Barbary Coast, which was a few blocks down the street; I was there for the rest of the day. The night of the fight, Shane was going in different directions, Gary Shaw the Promoter and his wife were having problems as far as the actual fight, the seating, and all kinds of different things. I didn’t think it was a good atmosphere for a fighter to be in and I tried to tell Shane that maybe he should go to another room, and so forth. No one was listening to me.
The fight started and I really thought that we lost that fight; I feel that a lot of people that know the boxing profession well, felt the same. In fact, after the fight I went over and congratulated Oscar, who I had also worked with since he was a youngster. In fact, in the ninth round, Shane had Oscar hurt, he caught him with a real good left hook, but he didn’t finish him. So when he came and sat down in the corner, I said “Son,” I used to call him son, because we were so close, I said “Son, you had him in trouble, when you get back in there go back to that left hook and follow-up with a right-handed body shot and come up with a second left hook and you’re going to take him out.” I was dumbfounded as Shane yelled at me and said, “Shut up, you don’t know anything!” At that time, I came down the corner and that was the end of me with the Mosley Team. I never reported to any further camps, I never called him and he’s never called me back.
But the fact that he was using steroids, I just want to clear that with myself, people in boxing, people that might be interested to know whether he did or not, he did. Now he should be man enough to say I use steroids, instead of saying he didn’t know he was using steroids, he was made to use steroids, or any other excuse. If you want to be a man in this society, you have got to pay the price. I’m not a rich man, but I sleep well at night, I don’t have to be maliciously embarrassed in front of people by my wife, I don’t have to be arrogant because of money, and I don’t have to treat people underneath me the way they do. That’s another reason I chose to leave after that particular fight, because it was no longer a family situation, it was no longer a Mosley situation. It became somebody else running the camp.
It’s sad that his father has been fired, a couple of times. It’s sad that Shane himself, does not have any kind of relationship with his sister or even with his mother, because his wife won’t let him. That’s their problem, but I am a family man, I love my children, I love the sport of boxing and I hate what has happened to it because of people like Shane. Cheating, stealing, however, you want to call it, that’s what he has done.
If Mosley reads this, or if he finds out about this, hey, the truth, that’s what it is. If he doesn’t like it, then he shouldn’t have done it. I don’t have any regrets in my life. Nobody can point a finger and say I’ve ever done anything wrong to anybody.
Contrary, I’ve been used and abused, but I’m still here and I still have a good heart. I will still try and help my people, no matter what day of the week it is. It is a shame that when some people get a lot of money, it all goes to their head. They forget who got them there, and they forget even their own families.
DH: What would you like to see happen?
It doesn’t matter what he feels about me, because he’s going to have to answer to the real man up above. When that happens, it will be reckoning day.
DH: It sounds like you’re more upset with the way Mosley has treated the boxing world in general that how he treated you specifically, is that correct?
Of course. You know, if anybody cheats at anything, whether it be a test, playing cards, any kind of cheating, morally, it is wrong! Yet, some of these people are looking at cheating as just another way of making the big money. They are becoming successful and the people that are out there really trying hard and doing it right, seldom get a break.
DH: Like Chicanito?
Like Chicanito. You know, Chicanito was a real champion, he worked so hard. He was a tall skinny guy who threw more punches than anybody could count, and he had a heart as big as a lion. When he fought De La Hoya at Caesars Palace, I was sitting there ringside and I was rooting for him because I knew what he had overcome. He didn’t go to the Olympics, he didn’t have corporate America behind him, he didn’t have a big promoter. That’s why I consider Chicanito a real, real, champion. He didn’t earn his titles politically or with outside help, like some of these people that we’re talking about. When you get down to the nitty, gritty, that’s what really matters. Chicanito and his type, made it on their own, they fought hard, and they lived hard. But even now, he’s facing death or at the least, a crippling disability. He’s facing a way that nobody wants to go, but he’s doing it bravely. And again, he’s trying to do it on his own. That’s why I think we must come to his rescue and help him through his hard times. I’ll be the first one to stand up there, shake his hand, and hug him. I will tell him that I’m here to help you son, that’s what Chicanito deserves now.
DH: So what I hear you saying is that Mosley’s success comes at the expense of more worthy fighters like Chicanito, is that correct?
That’s true. A dear friend of mine, Mando Ramos, who recently passed, and I were trying for many years to get a union for boxers because we wanted to help them with things like a retirement fund, health care upon retirement, aide in obtaining employment and it never materialized. However, this is why Mando and I wanted to do something, because there are so many fighters that after their day in the ring is over, they have nothing. Even the fighters that made a lot of money, unfortunately by means of crook and rook lost it all. Take Mike Tyson for instance, 300 million dollars, blown. That’s incredible and there are many others.
I’ll tell you, I actually questioned God the day of the second De la Hoya - Mosley fight. After the fight was over, I was walking back to my hotel room and I actually looked up to the sky and said to God, “How can you allow a cheater, someone who is not righteous enough to be a champion, to not only get the win, he actually lost the fight, God, why did you give him a win?”
I remember clearly saying that out loud and I’m sure people were standing around me in Las Vegas saying that I was an idiot, but that’s how strongly I believed in what I was doing. I didn’t want to have anything top do with anybody that was going to cheat and exploit the sport that has had such greats throughout the years. A lot of men have paid the price, some have died in the ring, and you know. That’s something that we have got to be proud of. It’s a very tough sport, but it’s a sport that people take to heart. Shane used to be that way, but when his wife came into the picture, everything became money, and everything became “Let’s cut corners.” Everything became, how can we cheat some more? How can we get more than we are already making?
DH: What is your ultimate goal here? What are you trying to accomplish?
My ultimate goal is to see if we could re-establish boxing to what it used to be. It is no longer that.
DH: In your opinion, what has boxing lost?
Integrity, focus, I mean the reason PPV were started was to show off 5 or 6 world champions all on the same card. Putting their titles on the line, not this crap with PPV’s with has-beens fighting 10 rounds and charging 50 bucks. This is ridiculous, this is why people no longer want to talk about boxing. The people feel that all the fights are fixed, if they thought Don King put up fixed fights, it’s a joke now. Even people that are not experts in boxing, even women will come up to you and tell you, “Wow, I used to really look forward to fights, but this is a circus now.” And that is being polite, that’s why the sport is in shambles, some people have taken it to another level just to make money.
DH: Give me a for instance.
50 years ago, a 130 pounder would not have been able to put on 25 or 30 pounds to get in the ring to fight for 20 millions dollars. And a non-title fight to boot, that is ludicrous. It doesn’t even make sense that the state athletic commissions allow this farce to go on!
DH: So then you are hoping to clear this up and get back to realistic promotions and behavior, is that right?
Yeah, we need to get some regulations. We need to get some real honest-to-goodness promoters that are going to bring up the sport of boxing again. Not fight, whomever they want to fight, whenever they want to fight, and make hundreds of millions of dollars at the stake of the fans. After the fight that took place between Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya, I guarantee you. We dropped another 30% of following in the sport of boxing. It was atrocious and Chicanito said it best, “No athlete, no matter what sport, can slack off and eat, drink, and not be training and expect in 5 or 6 weeks time to get in shape to fight a pound-for-pound type of fighter.” Or any fighter for that matter. That is ridiculous, it is an insult to the sport and its fans.
I remember many years ago, a fight between Larry Holmes and the “White Hope,” Gerry Cooney, Cooney came in really in bad shape, he wasn’t ready for that fight and Holmes destroyed him just with his jab. At the end of the fight, Gerry was sitting in the middle of the ring crying and apologizing to his fans. Even in a loss, that’s what matters the most, the fans. But not today. These people, they cheat, they lie, and they laugh all the way to the bank. How sad is that?
DH: Thank you for sharing. Are there any final words you would like to add to this?
God bless America, and we still have the very best in the world, we just have to bring it back.
