BoxRec

Lucas Browne stripped of WBA belt & suspended for 6 months

Australian Lucas Browne's 'B' test was analyzed by VADA and came back positive.

This means, the Championships Committee of the World Boxing Association have stripped Browne of is heavyweight title and suspended him for 6 months, in accordance with the rules of the organization.

Browne won his WBA belt after winning by TKO in the tenth against the then champion Ruslan Chagaev in March. However, the title will not be returned to its former owner after he revealed his intention not to return to the ring when announcing his retirement following the fight.

Should he decide to return to the ring, Chagaev will have 120 days to negotiate a fight with Fres Oquendo, who by court order in the United States, is entitled to this confrontation. But if Chagaev decides to stay away, Cuban Luis Ortiz and Russian Alexander Ustinov would fight for the vacant regular heavyweight and then the mandatory against Oquendo.

Browne was only suspended for 6 months because in a previous test earlier that week he was negative. After the combat with Chagaev, he showed the prohibited substance he tested positive for, which was Clenbuterol.

However, although the WBA believe there was no intention to infringe the rules by the boxer, we recognise that Browne and his team are responsible for what the fighter eats or ingests before a world title fight.

http://www.worldboxingnews.net/2016/05/ ... six-months

Reasonable behaviour from the WBA.

Horse wrote:Reasonable behaviour from the WBA.

Fairly inevitable outcome I would have thought.

Interesting twist with Chagaev having already announced his retirement though. Unless he changes his mind, the winner of Ortiz vs Ustinov looks headed next for the mandatory fight Oquendo has been hanging out for.

Redback Rasta wrote:

Horse wrote:Reasonable behaviour from the WBA.

Fairly inevitable outcome I would have thought.

Interesting twist with Chagaev having already announced his retirement though. Unless he changes his mind, the winner of Ortiz vs Ustinov looks headed next for the mandatory fight Oquendo has been hanging out for.

I know it's been said but the WBA are taking the piss. All these drawn out tournaments to have a 'true' WBA champion are ridiculous. Especially as they are still sanctioning fights for interim and regular belts.

Ortiz should be fuming, it's not like time is on his side.

Webbo911 wrote:I know it's been said but the WBA are taking the piss. All these drawn out tournaments to have a 'true' WBA champion are ridiculous. Especially as they are still sanctioning fights for interim and regular belts.

Ortiz should be fuming, it's not like time is on his side.

What's he got to fume about?

I'm sick of reading about how hard done by this guy is.

He has just recently appeared on the world scene and he has already failed a drug test.

Does this mean Luis Ortiz vs Ustinov will be for the WBA belt?

Horse wrote:

Webbo911 wrote:I know it's been said but the WBA are taking the piss. All these drawn out tournaments to have a 'true' WBA champion are ridiculous. Especially as they are still sanctioning fights for interim and regular belts.

Ortiz should be fuming, it's not like time is on his side.

What's he got to fume about?

I'm sick of reading about how hard done by this guy is.

He has just recently appeared on the world scene and he has already failed a drug test.

Well said.

Webbo911 wrote:

Redback Rasta wrote:

Horse wrote:Reasonable behaviour from the WBA.

Fairly inevitable outcome I would have thought.

Interesting twist with Chagaev having already announced his retirement though. Unless he changes his mind, the winner of Ortiz vs Ustinov looks headed next for the mandatory fight Oquendo has been hanging out for.

I know it's been said but the WBA are taking the piss. All these drawn out tournaments to have a 'true' WBA champion are ridiculous. Especially as they are still sanctioning fights for interim and regular belts.

Ortiz should be fuming, it's not like time is on his side.

You can say the same for Ustinov, and Oquendo should already have been in a weelchair 5 years ago

What a shame that Australias only world heavyweight champ was stripped due to doping. He should've trusted in the hard work and himself.

I hate PED users. They rarely admit their guilt and are all to easily forgiven.

OT, but James Toney is worshipped by some, but is a convicted drugs cheat. Who's to say he wasn't doping in the Jirov fight?

Would anyone be at all surprised if Hayes fight against this dude with not enough vowels in his name ends up being for a version of the WBA? All Dave has to do is flutter his eye lashes at them. Plus he has the backing of Dave the home of comedy

keithmoonhangover wrote:I hate PED users. They rarely admit their guilt and are all to easily forgiven.

OT, but James Toney is worshipped by some, but is a convicted drugs cheat. Who's to say he wasn't doping in the Jirov fight?

IMO he did it as a heavyweight to build himself up for the Jameel McCline fight. Toney then suffered a tendon injury during sparring and it's been said these kind of injuries occur during use of some PEDs. Also he was working with some body building guy associated with PEDs.

And then obviously, after the injury, when he ballooned disgustingly out of shape, was never athletic again. Then suddenly to be offered the Ruiz fight, he took something - whatever it is he tested positive for - to help get the weight off.

guess we will never know the truth, but athletes/body builders etc are professional liars most of them will admit to major crimes before they admit to taking drugs.

Just highlights the embarrassing fan boy piece in the last boxing monthly about Browne - the writer ( Paul Zanon I think ? ) defends big daddy by saying how unlikely it is that a heavy would bother taking a weight loss drug -

then goes and quotes Brown boasting about how he'd lost more weight than ever before for the Chagaev fight !!

Unbelievably bad journalism.

I wonder what Browne's position with the WBA be after the 6 months? Could this just delay it all by 6 months. I wonder if Chagaev stays retired it will be Browne vs Oquendo for vacant WBA title?

Autobarn wrote:

keithmoonhangover wrote:I hate PED users. They rarely admit their guilt and are all to easily forgiven.

OT, but James Toney is worshipped by some, but is a convicted drugs cheat. Who's to say he wasn't doping in the Jirov fight?

IMO he did it as a heavyweight to build himself up for the Jameel McCline fight. Toney then suffered a tendon injury during sparring and it's been said these kind of injuries occur during use of some PEDs. Also he was working with some body building guy associated with PEDs.

And then obviously, after the injury, when he ballooned disgustingly out of shape, was never athletic again. Then suddenly to be offered the Ruiz fight, he took something - whatever it is he tested positive for - to help get the weight off.

Toney apparently had brain damage, his pituitary gland was damaged, and that led to declining levels of testosterone, which contributed to the weight gain.

Yes, he was still allowed to fight with his pituitary gland damaged.... ridiculous. If that was through boxing than what other damage is/was there - pituitary gland is very important and very well protected.

Lucas Browne's court case against the WBA has been postponed until August 4th

http://www.thesweetscience.com/feature- ... -postponed

http://ringtv.craveonline.com/news/4300 ... s-stripped

Lucas Browne may face Fres Oquendo as a way to settle the lawsuit Browne filed against the WBA, WBA president Gilberto Mendoza Jr. has said.

This is only possible because Chagaev has been stripped of his WBA regular heavyweight title and removed from the ratings for failing to pay a sanctioning fee of $40,750 for a previous bout with Oquendo, according to a letter from the WBA to Chagaev.

Chagaev was supposed to face Oquendo after the title was given back to him after Browne’s positive test, but now Browne may be given that opportunity.

Browne filed suit against the WBA in May in Tacoma, Washington, claiming he didn’t intentionally digest any banned substances. Browne has offered that he might have eaten steak the night before the fight that contained clenbuterol.

Mendoza said the WBA may order that Browne and Oquendo face each other as a way to resolve Browne’s lawsuit.

“As you may know, Browne sued the WBA in Washington state,” Mendoza wrote. “A settlement possibility could be Oquendo v. Browne for the regular title in order to continue the tournament.”

Asked to clarify, Mendoza suggested a fight with Oquendo could be used as an olive branch to clear up the lawsuit. “There could be the possibility for a settlement,” he wrote.

Bearing in mind that 'tampering' with samples - admittedly, primarily designed to disguise useage - has been identified as a serious, endemic issue in Russia and also other states in the region does Browne still deserve a certain benefit of the doubt?

The actual control-honesty of WADA approved labs at the Sochi Olympics has been called into question, so has Lucas been a victim of that as well?

Bearing in mind that WADA approved labs were not watertight and being duped by the Russians at the Olympics it is not wholly unreasonable to suggest that a heavyweight title fight in Chechyna could have been fiddled with.

I have a sneaking suspicion this case will be resolved before they reach the courtroom.

keithmoonhangover wrote:I hate PED users. They rarely admit their guilt and are all to easily forgiven.

OT, but James Toney is worshipped by some, but is a convicted drugs cheat. Who's to say he wasn't doping in the Jirov fight?

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt on this one he passed the lie detector test. He and his team were just stupid they should have checked everything he ate or brought it specially prepared.

stujones wrote:I wonder what Browne's position with the WBA be after the 6 months? Could this just delay it all by 6 months. I wonder if Chagaev stays retired it will be Browne vs Oquendo for vacant WBA title?

I think that is exactly how things will pan out and would anticipate an announcement shortly after Browne's suspension is completed that he will fight Oquendo next.