So what does this mean for Joshua's WBA defence?

[candyslim]

I tried posting this question in another thread but it got no response, so I'll try again:

Now that Ortiz has faied his VADA test what happens to his WBA mandatory challenger status?

Correct me if I'm wrong but I've not heard that the WBA have removed that status from him. The fight for the WBC title didn't happen but is it enough that he signed the contract?

Would the drug test failure cause the WBA to strip him of his mandatory status, or would they take the view that what went on is between Ortiz, VADA and the WBC is no concern of theirs? Or even keep him there as some kind of 'screw you' to the WBC.

Interesting if they did retain him whether this would affect Joshua's / Hearn's intentions, whether he'd be next up i.e. revert to "Plan A".

Perhaps I'm just an old softy but I can't help feeling for Ortiz. Yeah yeah he's a drug cheat, burn him at the stake n' all, but he's been the stand out contender in the division for five years, no title holder wants to know him. Finally at the age of 38 (Cuban years) he's got himself a guaranteed title shot in London just a few months away. All he has to do is sit on his 'arris and wait for the new year or take a tick-over fight if he feels the need, and he's got it made.

But no, this man may have his flaws, but absence of a fighting heart isn't one of them. He decides to gamble his golden handshake and back his ability to overcome Wilder in a far less lucrative match, and then meet Joshua in a unification.

Oh Luis you poor fool it looks like you may have lost it all.

At the risk of upsetting a lot of you, I cannot rid myself of the suspicion that he got played, and it went down exactly as choreographed. Poor Deontay sabotaged by another good for nuthin druggie, just like the last time he tried to step up.

[IRLangmaid25]

I would expect that for him to take the shot against Deontay Wilder for the WBC portion of the heavyweight title, he would have had to give up his status at the number 1 ranked WBA contender to roll the dice against Wilder, believing if he pulled it off then he would get a lucrative unification match up against Anthony Joshua, who is essentially the target for every creditable heavyweight contender now. But now it has (potentially) gone to pot due to this failed drugs test. If he was taking it for blood pressure etc, then prior to taking this fight he would have disclosed this to the WBC and their drug testers.

[Tarkus]

I tried posting this question in another thread but it got no response, so I'll try again:

Now that Ortiz has faied his VADA test what happens to his WBA mandatory challenger status?

Correct me if I'm wrong but I've not heard that the WBA have removed that status from him. The fight for the WBC title didn't happen but is it enough that he signed the contract?

Would the drug test failure cause the WBA to strip him of his mandatory status, or would they take the view that what went on is between Ortiz, VADA and the WBC is no concern of theirs? Or even keep him there as some kind of 'screw you' to the WBC.

Interesting if they did retain him whether this would affect Joshua's / Hearn's intentions, whether he'd be next up i.e. revert to "Plan A".

Perhaps I'm just an old softy but I can't help feeling for Ortiz. Yeah yeah he's a drug cheat, burn him at the stake n' all, but he's been the stand out contender in the division for five years, no title holder wants to know him. Finally at the age of 38 (Cuban years) he's got himself a guaranteed title shot in London just a few months away. All he has to do is sit on his 'arris and wait for the new year or take a tick-over fight if he feels the need, and he's got it made.

But no, this man may have his flaws, but absence of a fighting heart isn't one of them. He decides to gamble his golden handshake and back his ability to overcome Wilder in a far less lucrative match, and then meet Joshua in a unification.

Oh Luis you poor fool it looks like you may have lost it all.

At the risk of upsetting a lot of you, I cannot rid myself of the suspicion that he got played, and it went down exactly as choreographed. Poor Deontay sabotaged by another good for nuthin druggie, just like the last time he tried to step up.

Or paid.

[jamamb]

funny you say burn him at the stake in reference to how ppl treat ortiz. in fact, its more like thats what everyone wants to do to wilder. ppl sucked ortiz off for the last two years before he fuckked his own career up and started looking like shit. remember that ortiz was positive for kayode. if he cheated then, why wouldnt he for his toughest opponent in his biggest fight?

if ortiz kept as mandatory to josh, would love to see josh ko him. it would be pretty much a sure thing. king kong krushed. not sure the drug addict deserves the aj payday though.

[asdfjkl]

I'm quite confident Ortiz did nothing wrong and I'm quite confident that if Joseph Parker said he's ready to fight Wilder right now, that Wilder would be running away scared or/and hide himself behind the WBC.

I'm confident Ortiz is innocent and I've predicted this would happen several months ago, correct names, correct reasons, almost perfect dates, everything. I hope Ortiz and Breazeale will now openly approach each other, pure and only because I'd like to see the Wilder team saying "no, not on our undercard!" Because they know this would be the main event instead of Stiverne, where we now all know from why he didn't mind accepting the Breazeale fight, knowing it would never happen.

[Nightmare Roy]

I'm quite confident Ortiz did nothing wrong and I'm quite confident that if Joseph Parker said he's ready to fight Wilder right now, that Wilder would be running away scared or/and hide himself behind the WBC.

I'm confident Ortiz is innocent and I've predicted this would happen several months ago, correct names, correct reasons, almost perfect dates, everything. I hope Ortiz and Breazeale will now openly approach each other, pure and only because I'd like to see the Wilder team saying "no, not on our undercard!" Because they know this would be the main event instead of Stiverne, where we now all know from why he didn't mind accepting the Breazeale fight, knowing it would never happen.

Wilder would beat Parker with ease!

[candyslim]

I would expect that for him to take the shot against Deontay Wilder for the WBC portion of the heavyweight title, he would have had to give up his status at the number 1 ranked WBA contender to roll the dice against Wilder, believing if he pulled it off then he would get a lucrative unification match up against Anthony Joshua, who is essentially the target for every creditable heavyweight contender now. But now it has (potentially) gone to pot due to this failed drugs test. If he was taking it for blood pressure etc, then prior to taking this fight he would have disclosed this to the WBC and their drug testers.

He damn well should have declared it. It doesn't look good that he didn't. Foolish man.

funny you say burn him at the stake in reference to how ppl treat ortiz. in fact, its more like thats what everyone wants to do to wilder. ppl sucked ortiz off for the last two years before he fuckked his own career up and started looking like poo. remember that ortiz was positive for kayode. if he cheated then, why wouldnt he for his toughest opponent in his biggest fight?

if ortiz kept as mandatory to josh, would love to see josh ko him. it would be pretty much a sure thing. king kong krushed. not sure the drug addict deserves the aj payday though.

He signed up to the "Clean Boxing Program" (I think that's what they call an oxymoron) so he'd have to be a complete fukcing idiot to be taking PEDs when he knows VADA's history relating to Wilder. His defenders complain about Wilder getting hate but this isn't because he's black or because he's from the deep south, or because he's perceived as boring to watch, it is purely because he is seen as someone who always takes the path of least resistance, while at the same time bragging how his record is better than Tyson's, and whinging that he gets no respect.

Why does anyone care about drug cheat Ortiz? Well I guess it's because whatever else he is, he's a gladiator willing to bet everything on his ability as a fighter, who now looks like his reward for his courage is going to be a massive kick in the cojones and in the wallet.

@Asdfjkl: The last line of your post is exactly what I was thinking. Even when they had me hooked and were reeling me in, I couldn't for the life of me understand (not his taking money to step aside which makes perfect sense) why TF, Stiverne would want to risk his guaranteed mandatory shot at Wilder by fighting a guy like Breazeale who he'd be 50/50 at best. Now it makes perfect sense.

@Tarkus: Are you suggesting Ortiz got paid to screw up? Why would he do that when he could make his fortune fighting AJ instead?

[Enlightened-One]

The WBA recently introduced their “Fair Boxing” program, which is their equivalent of the WBC’s “Clean Boxing” program, with both governing bodies having established a partnership with VADA.

VADA announced that Luis Ortiz tested positive for banned substances, resulting in the Cuban’s WBC title fight against Deontay Wilder being cancelled.

ESPN’s Dan Rafael explained the following key points:
• Luis Ortiz may still be the highest ranked heavyweight according to the WBA’s ratings, but he willingly sacrificed his mandatory challenger status when he contractually committed himself to compete for the WBC’s title
• The Cuban did not disclose any medical condition, he did not request an exemption and nor did he state the medication that he was prescribed was being used for health reasons (when completing the medical questionnaire – the relevant sections were left blank), which contravened several of VADA’s (& probably the WBA’s) rules (assuming Ortiz's excuses are subsequently proven to be true)

Sky Sports pundit, Johnny Nelson, explained that the substances that Luis Ortiz allegedly took were diuretics (chlorothiazide and hydrochlorothiazide), which are commonly used to flush PED’s out of a fighters’ system. They’re masking agents that are used to hide or “mask” the presence of PED’s.

The same drugs are also used in the management of hypertension (high blood pressure).

The last time Luis Ortiz tested positive for banned substances was only three years ago, when it was discovered that he’d taken an anabolic steroid called nandrolone, which subsequently resulted in an eight month ban.

Manager to Luis Ortiz, Jay Jimenez, claims that the WBC have yet to issue the Cuban with a ban. Apparently they need to verify the medical justification for him consuming both the chlorothiazide and hydrochlorothiazide banned substances. The WBC have already scheduled visits between their own physicians and Luis Ortiz to check the status of his health.

So if the Cuban genuinely needs to take this medication, then he may not be deemed medically fit to fight. So there’s a chance he’ll be suspended regardless, even if there is irrefutable proof that Luis Ortiz needs this sort of treatment for health reasons.

When Alexander Povetkin was tested positive for banned substances, the WBA dropped him from their rankings, even though it was the WBC that issued the ban.

Therefore, I expect the WBA to behave consistently and drop Luis Ortiz from their rankings if it is subsequently proven that he’s either: a drug cheat (a repeat offender at that!); receives a suspension for not adhering by VADA’s rules; or due to being declared medically unfit by the WBC.

Even if he is cleared of committing any wrongdoing… Luis Ortiz won’t be challenging for Anthony Joshua’s WBA title anytime soon, since he’d need that organisation to either reinstate his mandatory challenger status or until he emerges victorious in a final eliminator. I doubt that Eddie Hearn would allow AJ to make a voluntary defence against the Cuban, since the Brit has far bigger fish to fry (financially).

[candyslim]

Thanks for that EO. Very informative as usual. Sounds like Senor Ortiiz is stuffed whichever way it falls. I know he has been a naughty boy in the past and maybe again this time, but I can't help feeling sorry for him. It's like Dillian Whyte said : The guy's sixty years old. Of course he's going to need a pick-me-up or something to get him through the training (or words to that effect)

As a fan I feel saddened and a bit cheated that we never really got to see what he could do, and now it's going to be too late for him. He should fight Povetkin for the unsanctioned, unrestricted Heavyweight Championship of World - PEDestrians welcome

[asdfjkl]

I'm quite confident Ortiz did nothing wrong and I'm quite confident that if Joseph Parker said he's ready to fight Wilder right now, that Wilder would be running away scared or/and hide himself behind the WBC.

I'm confident Ortiz is innocent and I've predicted this would happen several months ago, correct names, correct reasons, almost perfect dates, everything. I hope Ortiz and Breazeale will now openly approach each other, pure and only because I'd like to see the Wilder team saying "no, not on our undercard!" Because they know this would be the main event instead of Stiverne, where we now all know from why he didn't mind accepting the Breazeale fight, knowing it would never happen.

Wilder would beat Parker with ease!

Well, I wouldn't be surprised if Parker gladly accepted right now.