Cuban boxer Luis Ortiz tested positive in an anti-doping “pop test” conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) and jeopardized his chance to contest the World Boxing Council (WBC) world heavyweight title against American Deontay Wilder .
“He came out positive in a test and it is very difficult for the fight on November 4 to take place,” Victor Cota, director of history and statistics for the WBC, told AFP.
However, the fight has not been called off. “He was given the opportunity to present a second test,” added Cota, for ‘King Kong’ Ortiz to appeal for the presence of hydrochlorothizide (diuretic) in his urine.
On Thursday, Mauricio Sulaiman, president of the WBC, announced on Twitter from Baku that boxing’s governing body “received confirmation from VADA that Luis Ortiz tested positive for the use of a prohibited substance.”
VADA “is a highly reliable body for the Council when it comes to detecting these types of irregularities,” said Cota.
If Ortiz, the WBC’s runner-up among heavyweights, does not present a strong counter-proof in his favor, the fight against Wilder will be called off.
Before, also due to doping, the ‘Bronze Bomber’ Wilder canceled two defenses of his title that he had agreed to against the Russian Alexander Povetkin (positive in December 2016) and against the Polish Andrzj Wawrzyk (positive in January 2017).