WBC Warns: All Champs, Top 15 Fighters Must Be VADA Tested
The World Boxing Council announced the official registration period for the Clean Boxing Program on May 5 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Every champion and any top 15 rated fighter in the WBC is required to bind themselves to out of competition and in-competition random testing.
The Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) is responsible to administer the program, including the entire testing system, which randomly selects eligible boxers for collection of samples.
The Clean Boxing Program, which is random testing, comes at zero cost to the boxer, its representatives or anyone else - as it is paid in full by the Clean Boxing Program.
All eligible fighters must submit their paperwork to enroll in the program immediately, as the 90-day grace period will expire August 9, 2016 and any fighter who is not enrolled in the Clean Boxing Program will be removed from the WBC ratings.
The WBC is involved in a tug of war over a recently failed drug test in the mandatory fight between Deontay Wilder and Alexander Povetkin.
Povetkin was scheduled to face Wilder on May 21 in Moscow before the Russian fighter tested positive for a minor trace of Meldonium, and that forced the WBC to postpone the fight indefinitely for an investigation. Povetkin was tested on May 17th by VADA and came up clean. He also tested negative in three tests prior to the failure in question.
Wilder was cleared to make a voluntary defense by the WBC and he is now scheduled to defend his belt against Chris Arreola on July 16th in Birmingham, Alabama.
Povetkin, his doctor and his legal team met with the WBC earlier this week to discuss the matter. There are also lawsuits that were filed by both sides, with each camp looking for millions of dollars in damages as a result of the canceled event.
The lawsuit are likely to play out for several months, but the WBC's decision is coming soon
