By Vadm Pushkin
The team behind Russian boxer Igor Mikhalkin, who was suspended for doping, will looks to vacate his suspension order and reclaim the EBU championship that was taken from him, according to the boxer's manager Vyacheslav Karakash.
In April it was announced that the European champion at light heavyweight failed a drug test and came up positive for meldonium.
Mikhalkin won the European title in April 2014. He was popped for the substance in a test take before his third defense of the title on March 12, 2016. As a result, Mikhalkin was stripped of the title and banned for two years.
WADA has reported 172 positive doping tests at the beginning of the year due to meldonium. Meldonium was listed as a banned substance by the World Anti-Doping Agency ( WADA ) on January 1, 2016.
According to the results of additional studies, WADA announced in early July that no athletes will punished if their samples - collected from March 1, 2016 to October 1, 2016 - contained less than 1 microgram of meldonium. After October 1, 2016, any meldonium content in the body of the athlete will be considered prohibited.
"When the decision by WADA came down on meldonium, we made a decision to vacate the suspension order and have the EBU title returned to Igor. In any case, the next fight for Igor will be scheduled for the autumn", - Said Karakash.
The substance in question has been a very hot topic in the boxing world. In May, it was revealed that Alexander Povetkin tested positive for a minor trace of the substance, and his scheduled fight with WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder was postponed. The WBC is still investigating the matter and plan to issue a ruling by the end of this month.
