Sulaiman Wants NSAC To Be Lenient With Chavez Jr.
Nov 13, 2012 • 8:11 AM ET
By James Blears
World Boxing Council President Jose Sulaiman says he hopes the Nevada State Athletic Commission tempers the punishment it hands down to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., who tested positive for marijuana after losing his middleweight title to Sergio Martinez in September.
It’s Chavez Jr.’s second offense. In 2009 the NSAC fined him ten thousand dollars and banned him for six months. Back then he tested positive for furosemide - a diuretic, used to help weight loss.
For the recent marijuana offense, the WBC has already fined Chavez Jr twenty thousand dollars and suspended him until a rehab clinic provides documentary proof he’s been successfully treated. Chavez Jr. who’s publically apologized, has yet to face the music at a hearing in Nevada.
Don Jose said a fair punishment from the NSAC, would be a ring ban for six months, and a fine not exceeding one hundred thousands dollars. But he also added: “If I request this, for sure the Nevada Commission is going to [hit him with] something more!
“If it’s a fair and just decision, we will respect it. But if they institute an unacceptable punishment, the WBC will provide the [the rest of the] world for Chavez to perform.”
He also advised: “I think Julio Cesar Chavez Jr should not lose faith. Now he has realized that he cannot do as he pleases, he’s got to prove himself. And by doing that, I believe he will become a great champion again.”
In February Chavez Jr was charged with DUI in Los Angeles, just a week before he fought and defeated compatriot Marco Antonio Rubio. He was given three years probation, and ordered to attend Alcoholics Anonymous.
