New NAC chairman Marnell set to tackle drug testing, agency funding

In the nearly two years he has served on the Nevada Athletic Commission, Anthony Marnell III has kept his public comments to a minimum.

When he had to say something, he did, usually with conviction. But most of the time, he would take notes, listen intently and observe his fellow commissioners.

Those days are over.

Marnell, selected as the new chairman of the five-member commission, knows he will be a more visible figure moving forward. And he will be doing so at a time the NAC is about to undergo dramatic change.

"We're in a transition period that is going to have tremendous impact on how we do business going forward," said Marnell, who takes over for Francisco Aguilar and will be chairman through October 2017. "We are trying to get our new (anti-doping) regulations approved by the legislature, and we're looking to become a self-funding agency. That's going to take a lot of hard work.

"But we want to remain in the forefront when it comes to drug testing and maintaining the safety of the athletes, and we also want to be able to run our agency more efficiently. There are still certain things we do by typewriter. We need to upgrade the way we do things and make it easier for the promoters to work with us."

A former baseball player, Marnell has a good understanding of what athletes go through. His goal? To make sure there's a level playing field for any boxer, mixed martial artist or kick boxer who competes in Nevada and to see to it that those who break the rules are dealt with accordingly.

"We're here to protect the health and the safety of the fighters," he said. "To do that, it's important we have rules that reflect the times that we live in and that we enforce those rules."

Marnell said the key to making the new regulations work is education. The commission wants to make sure that fighters, trainers and whoever else understand the rules.

"The fighters are responsible for what they put in their bodies," Marnell said. "But the commission also has a responsibility to let them know what the rules are. I think with education will come a drastic reduction in drug penalties."

Marnell said he's encouraged by boxing's future and the rising young stars the sport is producing.

"There's a number of young athletes who show a lot of promise, and I think you'll see there's a lot of talented fighters who come to Nevada that are going to be great," he said.

HARD ROCK CARD — Despite the injury Gary Russell Jr. suffered last week that forced the featherweight world champion off the card, TGB Promotions salvaged Saturday's event at the Hard Rock Hotel.

Russell got cut while training for his title defense against Oscar Escandon and pulled out of the fight.

The previously announced matchup between super welterweights Frank Galarza (17-0-2, 11 knockouts) of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Jarrett Hurd (16-0, 10 KOs) of Accokeek, Md., will serve as the 10-round main event, which will be televised by Showtime.

KOVALEV PATIENT — With Andre Ward's knee injury sidelining him for the rest of the year, it puts into question whether Ward and world light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev will meet in 2016.

Ward was scheduled to fight on the undercard of the Nov. 21 fight between Canelo Alvarez and Miguel Cotto at Mandalay Bay on HBO Pay Per View. But he pulled out of the fight Wednesday, and it's unknown when he will return.

Egis Klimas, Kovalev's manager, said it might alter the timetable somewhat depending on how quickly Ward recovers. But he thinks a Kovalev-Ward fight will happen at some point.

"You're talking about the two top fighters at light heavyweight, and this is a fight the fans want to see," Klimas said. "Right now, Kovalev vs. Ward isn't made, so it doesn't change anything. But I think it will happen one day."

Kovalev (28-0-1, 25 KOs) defends his titles Jan. 30 against Jean Pascal in Montreal. Kovalev scored an eighth-round technical knockout over Pascal on March 14, and Klimas said Kovalev is focused only on the rematch.

DONAIRE STAYS PUT — Former world champion Nonito Donaire's decision to remain with Top Rank as his promoter will allow the "Filipino Flash" to get fights against some of the top featherweights, including Vasyl Lomachenko and Nicholas Walters, who stopped him in the sixth round of their world featherweight title fight in October 2014.

"I have no problems fighting Lomachenko," Donaire said. "I want to stay with the company, and Bob (Arum) wanted me to stay."

Donaire (35-3, 23 KOs) faces Cesar Lopez on Dec. 11 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on truTV. He has not fought in Las Vegas since February 2011, when he defeated Fernando Montiel at Mandalay Bay.

Arum, the Top Rank chairman, said he thinks Donaire has regained his focus from earlier in his career when he won world titles in four divisions.

"We've always liked Nonito," Arum said. "We think he has a good future now that his mind is in the right place. For a while, he had that celebrity mindset with 1,700 bodyguards.

"But now, he's serious again. He's more mature. He has two kids, and he believes he can make significant strides in the second half of his career."

— Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.