Khan rematch in doubt as Peterson tests positive

BOXING:THE WORLD title rematch between Amir Khan and Lamont Peterson in Las Vegas on July 19th edged closer to cancellation last night when it was confirmed the American has tested positive for testosterone use.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), which is responsible for the conduct of the promotion, will take submissions from Peterson’s legal advisers before delivering a judgment within the next day or so.

Khan is seeking to reclaim the WBA and IBF light-welterweight belts lost in a controversial fight in Washington last December.

How the NSAC views the alleged use of a banned performance-enhancing substance will reflect its commitment to probity in the sport. Its record, generally, has been good; it banned Mike Tyson for biting Evander Holyfield’s ear in 1997 and would not let Antonio Margarito box in Nevada after he was caught with loaded gloves before his fight with Shane Mosley in 2009.

However it had no qualms about sanctioning Floyd Mayweather’s fight with Miguel Cotto at the MGM Grand last Saturday night – three weeks before Mayweather was due to go to prison for domestic battery against his former partner Josie Harris.

Richard Schaefer, chief executive of Golden Boy Promotions, Khan’s American promotional partners, last night put meat on the bones of a story that has been bubbling up as rumour for days. He was not pleased that news of the results had been slow to emerge. While Peterson’s camp knew, Khan’s did not – and the selling of tickets at the Mandalay Bay went ahead.

“We were informed by a call [on Monday morning] from Keith Kizer, the director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. He said he had received a letter over the weekend from the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (Vada).” The tests took place at a lab at the University of California (UCLA) in mid-March but were not relayed to the drugs agency until a month later.

“Why I was not informed, I cannot explain,” Schaefer said.

“The adverse result for Peterson’s A-sample was reported to Vada by the lab [at UCLA] on April 12th. Again, why we were not informed until Monday – not even by Vada, but by the commission – is a mystery to me,” he added.

Guardian Service