By Ryan Burton
On May 21st the news broke that former heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs failed a random urine test for dramatically elevated levels of testosterone. The 45-year-old Briggs and the 44-year-old Fres Oquendo had been tested regularly by VADA, the Las Vegas-based Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, for their WBA heavyweight championship match. The bout had been scheduled for This upcoming Saturday at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, but was canceled due to Briggs’ positive PED test result.
The canceled title bout would have added another WBA heavyweight champion to go along wth Anthony Joshua who is likely headed to a fall rematch with Wladimir Klitschko.
The situation the WBA finds itself in inside the heavyweight division is even more convoluted with unbeaten mandatory challenger Luis Ortiz recently telling BoxingScene.com that he is considering legal action if he is not allowed to face Joshua next.
BoxingScene.com reached out to Ortiz's manager to get his take on the situation now that the Briggs-Oquendo bout has been canceled.
"Listen, we would have loved to take Briggs place (against Oquendo) but we are still waiting on Luis' promoter Dade Promotions to tell us what's going on with the WBA mandatory situation. I know that their attorneys from Andrew Horn's firm had told them that they had already put in requests to the WBA and Eddie Hearn for the mandatory defense but so far no answer," Jimenez told BoxingScene.com while saying that there is no need for a Joshua-Klitschko rematch.
"I just read an article on BoxingScene where Eddie Hearn is saying that the WBA gave him a special permit. I don't know where he is getting this from because I spoke to (Gilberto) Mendoza myself and no such permit had been given. I really want all this resolved because before anything, I'm a hardcore boxing fan and I know Joshua has no faults in none of this but as far as I've heard from Jorge Carmenate, who is Ortiz promoter, he tells us that his attorneys at the Andrew Horn firm had told him no such permit is valid this time because they already got one when they made the first fight and yes it was a good fight but Joshua KO'd Klitschko at the end.
"Shit, let's just give (Kell) Brook his special permit too because that was a close fight (until he was stopped by Spence). You see this don't make sense. All I want is for them to do what's right and that's all. I feel this sport needs a boxing union or some attention because it's going from a sport to a business and that's not boxing. We should call it WWE boxing instead. This is why we are losing so many fans to MMA."
Jimenez feels the real reason Hearn isn't making the Joshu-Ortiz fight is because he is afraid of his fighter losing. He doesn't believe the U.K. based promoter wants to put his fighter in risky fights.
"I would rather Eddie Hearn just come out of the closet and admit Luis is too dangerous for Joshua. Especially after what just happened to his fighter on Saturday (when Brook lost to Spence) and karma got him and he lost his title so I doubt he wants another boxer representing USA to go over against Joshua this year and that's a fact. He won't face Luis or Deontay Wilder," said Jimenez.
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