By Miguel Rivera
By this coming Wednesday, the World Boxing Council intends to resolve the case of Mexico's Luis Nery, who tested positive for zilpaterol (substance similar to clenbuterol) prior to his fight with Shinsuke Yamanaka last August.
Nery (24-0, 18 KOs), who was the mandatory challenger, traveled to Japan in August and knocked out Yamanaka in four rounds to capture the WBC bantamweight title.
If the results is voided out, then Yamanaka could reclaim the world title. There is one problem, there has been talk of Yamanaka retiring from the sport and the Japanese boxer has not made an official decision on whether or not he intends to continue fighting or plans to take back the world title.
The issue of food contamination for Mexican fighters has been a hot topic in the last few years. High profile fighters like Erik Morales and Francisco Vargas have tested positive for clenbuterol, which both blamed on contaminated meat. Both boxers were allowed to move forward with their scheduled contests.
"In the case of Nery, this is a substance which is very similar to clenbuterol. This is a major problem [with respect to contamination], and for Mexican athletes in specific. It is very likely to be contamination through food, but in two days we will have the resolution and I would not like to speculate," said Sulaiman prior to his presentation at the convention's welcome.
"The commissioner (with the Japanes Commission) is part of the investigation. The fight was held in Japan and they have the jurisdiction of what is going to be the result. We have had many communications about it and here will be the end of the process. There was a test in Tijuana that came back positive on July 27 and three tests that were conducted in Japan and all three came back negative."
