WBC Defends Vitali Klitschko

By: James Blears

WBC Executive Director Mauricio Sulaiman, has defended heavyweight champion, who's revealed he was wrongly given a steroid as an amateur, without his knowledge, and then banned from participating in the olympics.

Vitali discusses this in his autobiography just out, which is entitled Among Brothers. Vitali insists that entirely without his knowledge, a doctor gave him a steroid, to treat an old leg injury, which he'd picked up in a kick boxing contest.

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It then showed up in a subsequent routine drug test, and Vitali was bounced off the 1996 Ukrainian Olympic Team, in spite of being personally innocent.

In his eight years as a pro, Vitali has never tested postive for any banned substance.

Mauricio Sulaiman said: "What happened to Vitali as an amateur was
absolutely tragic. But what occured then was not his responsibility, or his fault. I know that Vitali is a totally honorable honest person, and he's participated in boxing without the slightest problem.

"Even though he was personally innocent, he had to pay a very high cost, and I would say that all doctors in our sport have a very high responsibility."

Vitali defends his WBC heavyweight title against Britain's Danny Williams on December 11th at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas