Only days after being hit with a £100,000 fine for his behaviour in a video that went viral last week, Billy Joe Saunders has reportedly failed a Voluntary Anti-Doping Association drug test for the banned substance oxilofrine.
Preparing for his WBO middleweight title defence against Demetrius Andrad, ESPN now expect that the bout is likely to be cancelled, and Saunders stripped of his world title.
The British boxer claimed his WBO belt from Ireland's Andy Lee in a 2015 bout in Manchester. The Irish fighter's first defence of his belt after beating Matt Korobov, Saunders had successfully retained his belt on three separate occasions since.
According to the Daily Mail, however, although oxilofrine is on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) list of banned substances, British boxing rules determine that illegal use of the substance can only occur on the night of the fight itself - not in the training camp.
As such, Saunders would have no case to answer.
— billyjoesaunders (@bjsaunders_) September 27, 2018
Interestingly, Saunders had been vocal in his condemnation of the Mexican middleweight boxer Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez.
Labeling the man who overcame Gennady Golovkin earlier this month a 'cheat' after he was found to have failed a drugs test in March of this year, Saunders believed Alvarez should never have been allowed to box again.
