By Keith Idec

Shannon Briggs has failed a performance-enhancement drug test that should jeopardize his June 3 heavyweight title fight against Fres Oquendo.

A report posted Sunday afternoon by ESPN.com stated Briggs failed a random urine test for dramatically elevated levels of testosterone. The 45-year-old Briggs and the 44-year-old Oquendo have been tested regularly by VADA, the Las Vegas-based Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, for their WBA heavyweight championship match.

The bout is scheduled for a week from Saturday at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, but the ill-conceived contest could be canceled due to Briggs’ positive PED test result.

Briggs (60-6-1, 53 KOs, 1 NC), unusually muscular for someone his age, is 9-0 and has knocked out eight of those opponents since launching a comeback in April 2014. That winning streak has come against a low level of opposition, but the WBA still elevated Briggs into the No. 3 spot in its most recent heavyweight rankings, released May 12.

Oquendo, meanwhile, could be forced to wait even longer for the title shot he thought he’d get long ago.

Oquendo (37-8, 24 KOs), ranked fourth by the WBA, hasn’t fought since he dropped a 12-round majority decision to Uzbekistan’s Ruslan Chagaev (34-3-1, 21 KOs) in their July 2014 title fight in Grozny, Russia. Like Briggs, the Chicago native hasn’t produced a meaningful victory recently, yet he is in position to fight for a version of the WBA’s heavyweight title after suing Chagaev to receive the rematch he was owed in their contracts.

Australia’s Lucas Browne (24-0, 21 KOs) knocked out Chagaev in the 10th round 14 months ago in Grozny to win the title. The WBA later stripped Browne for failing a PED test.

The title was returned to Chagaev, but he, too, was stripped by the WBA because he failed to pay a sanctioning fee. Browne then was supposed to box Briggs for the vacant championship December 31, but Browne failed another drug test and their bout was canceled.

With Browne and Chagaev out of the mix, the WBA ordered a Briggs-Oquendo fight for the vacant championship. The WBA also recognizes England’s Anthony Joshua (19-0, 19 KOs) as its true “super” heavyweight champion.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.