Were boxer Antonio Margarito's fists of steel actually aided by concrete? Did Ultimate Fighting Champion Georges St-Pierre defend his title bout with enough Vaseline so that he was as slippery as a greased pig?
Fighting lore is sprinkled with colorful tales of questionable gamesmanship, yet even in this age of high-definition cameras and intense state testing, athletes are still swayed to sometimes bend the rules.
Last week the California State Athletic Commission revoked Margarito's boxing license for one year for having a "foreign substance" that resembled grout or plaster of Paris in his hand wrappings before his welterweight title loss to Shane Mosley in January.
"Gamesmanship is a much better word to use than cheating," said boxing historian Bert Sugar. "You're trying to win, and sometimes you can play games to ensure you do."
It was Mosley's trainer, Nazim Richardson, who spotted the illegal hand wraps in Margarito's dressing room. State officials ordered Margarito's hands to be rewrapped, and sent the plaster-like substance to a lab for analysis due next month.
Then one week after the Margarito-Mosley fight, another controversial bout took place.
UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre was scolded in Nevada for having excessive amounts of petroleum jelly on his body during his technical knockout over B.J. Penn.
During the fight, the smaller Penn complained that St-Pierre had so much Vaseline that Penn couldn't get a solid grip. State inspectors ordered corner men to wipe St-Pierre down with a towel during the match. After Penn suffered a terrible beating, he urged a "thorough investigation."
Nevada officials have ordered St-Pierre's trainer and corner man to provide written reports this week of what transpired on fight night.
"I have never cheated in my life," St-Pierre told Sports Illustrated.
"One of my corner men did use an energy technique to help with my breathing that involves rubbing my back. . . . If there was any Vaseline left. . . . it was unintentional."
Penn said he wants a rematch.
"Guys will push the envelope in every way possible," former UFC referee "Big" John McCarthy said of mixed martial arts fighters. "Vaseline has always been an issue in MMA. It's a real problem."
As for Margarito, he became known as the "Tijuana Tornado" because of his relentless punching style. At the state hearing, Margarito's attorney asked if his punching power came from months of grueling training, or because he had "some concrete in your fists?" Margarito answered, "I've never cheated."
