Former WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew is shaking his head with some of the happenings in the sport of boxing.

He says boxers are failing drug tests, for performance enhancers, and not suffering any dire consequences. Bellew believes that certain boxers have not only avoided serious punishment, but they are also being rewarded. 

Luis Ortiz, who tested positive for performance enhancers on two separate occasions, is facing WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder on March 3. Alexander Povetkin, who failed two drug tests in 2016, is now the mandatory challenger to Anthony Joshua, and even Tyson Fury - who failed a drug test in 2015 - made a deal for a back-dated ban and is currently training for an April return.

There were numerous other boxers who tested positive for banned substances and were able to avoid finds and suspensions.

In the opinion of Bellew, any and all fighters who test positive for hardcore performance enhancers should be banned form the sport - especially if it's proved that a boxer intentionally took the banned PED in question. 

Bellew is worried that someone will get seriously hurt at the hands of a past offender who was never administered any punishment.

"It disgusts me what's going on in boxing," Bellew said to BBC Sport.

"Once someone fails for performance-enhancing drugs and it is steroids, if it's proven without a shadow of a doubt they have been injecting steroids, ban the first guy for life. Once that first guy is banned for life, you will get the reaction you need.

"I don't ever want it to get to the stage where a man dies in the ring at the hands of a drugs cheat, believe me, boxing will come under the worst scrutiny. We've seen people call to stop boxing before.

"I know boxing is dangerous but it is 10 times more dangerous if one guy is on performance-enhancing drugs. The governing bodies out there, do your job, ban them for life."