By Miguel Rivera

The president of the World Boxing Council (WBC), Mauricio Sulaiman, said on Friday that he and his organization will stand in the corner of Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs), whom the WBC considers "guilty of negligence," but "not of doping."

"Putting everything on the table for the WBC, Canelo is not guilty of doping. Yes, he is guilty of negligence, ignorance, carelessness. Hopefully this April 18 the road is clarified one way or another," said Sulaiman with respect to the date on which the Nevada State Athletic Commission will decide a possible sanction to the Mexican boxer.

Canelo tested positive for banned substance clenbuterol in two anti-doping tests taken in February.

The Nevada Commission opened an investigation and issued a temporary suspension on Canelo, which forced the boxer to withdraw from the scheduled rematch with middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin on May 5th at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

"The case is very complex," Sulaiman said. "Doping is something absolutely punishable, but there is also the issue of justice. We, with the Clean Boxing Program, are the only body in this sport interested in a comprehensive program worldwide to combat doping and provide knowledge to boxers and coaches.

"The case of Canelo is a shame. It's a situation that deflated the big year that was expected, with the most important fight between him and Golovkin."

Sulaimán stressed that clenbuterol "is a proven substance of scandals in Mexico or athletes visiting Mexico."

"To give an example, 109 players out of 208 came out positive for clenbuterol in 2011 at the U-17 World Cup in Mexico. It is a public health issue in our country, in China and in some others," Sulaiman said.

The duty of the WBC, he said, is "to present all the facts, without prejudice, and to facilitate that a person can defend himself when there is a fault."