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Janibek Alimkhanuly has tested positive for a banned substance before his scheduled middleweight unification bout against Erislandy Lara on Saturday.<\/b><\/p>\n
The World Boxing Organisation (WBO) says it has been informed of the Kazakh fighter’s failed test by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (Vada) and an internal investigation is under way.<\/p>\n
Alimkhanuly, who holds the IBF and WBO titles, has been pulled from the bout against WBA champion Lara and replaced by Venezuela’s Johan Gonzalez, according to American media.<\/p>\n
It has been reported the banned substance is meldonium, a performance-enhancing drug which can boost an athlete’s endurance. It has been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) since 2016.<\/p>\n
Alimkhanuly’s ‘A’ sample returned an adverse analytical finding, and the fighter has requested that a second ‘B’ sample be tested.<\/p>\n
Writing on X, Alimkhanuly said he was “surprised” at Vada’s findings.<\/p>\n
“I have always supported clean sport, you know this well. I was surprised when I read the news,” said Alimkhanuly., external<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n “Vada took the first test and said everything was clean. I have not made any changes to my vitamins. I don’t know what happened with the second test, so I requested a retest.”<\/p>\n Alimkhanuly last fought on 5 April when he retained his WBO and IBF belts against Anauel Ngamissengue via a fifth-round stoppage. <\/p>\n The 32-year-old has won all 17 of his professional bouts since making his debut in 2016.<\/p>\n Cuban-American Lara last fought 14 months ago when he stopped Danny Garcia in the ninth round to retain his WBA title.<\/p>\n The 42-year-old, who is a former champion at light middleweight, has won 31 of 37 fights since debuting in 2008.<\/p>\n Gonzalez, 34, has won 36 of his 40 bouts and last competed in March when he defeated Jarrett Hurd by split decision. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n