Heavyweight Andrzej Wawrzyk tested positive for a banned substance and he is now out of his February 25th bout with Deontay Wilder, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com
Wawrzyk, who was due to challenge Deontay Wilder for his world title on Feb. 25 in the main event of a Premier Boxing Champions card on Fox in prime time, has tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol.
Wawrzyk and Wilder were being randomly tested — blood and urine — under the rules of the WBC’s Clean Boxing Program, which is overseen by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association.
According to the letter sent by VADA president Dr. Margaret Goodman notifying those involved of the positive test and obtained by ESPN, Wawrzyk was given urine tests in Warsaw, Poland, where he lives, on Jan. 15 and 16. The results of both tests, which were returned Tuesday night, were positive, and the parties were notified.
According to the VADA letter, Wawrzyk’s samples were “analyzed for anabolic agents, diuretics, beta-2 agonists, stimulants and drugs of abuse. The results of the analysis for each specimen is as follows: Adverse. Urine specimen contains stanozolol metabolites.”
“I just found out about the positive test [Tuesday night] and already every promoter with a heavyweight who can breathe is texting me or calling me trying to get the fight,” Wilder promoter Lou DiBella said. “I’m sitting here with my trusty iPad, and I am going to look at YouTube videos and rankings, and we’re just going to work. We’ll get a new opponent for Deontay. Feb 25 is going to go ahead as planned.
“But I’m just shaking my head. Deontay is just shaking his head. But we have a month before the fight, so we have time to get another opponent. The show will go on. I’m not happy about this, but I am much happier to find out now instead of finding out a few days before the fight.”
“They’re going to prevent an injury or a real problem,” DiBella said. “People have been blowing tests left and right in the program. My point of view is that there is a need for the Clean Boxing Program and VADA. And it’s working, because people are being caught.
“We have a clean champion named Deontay Wilder who has nothing to hide, and we’ll make sure when he gets in the ring, he gets in the ring with another guy who is also clean. Steroids and any kind of PED are not safe for the people taking them and not safe for the guy he is going to fight. Obviously, there is a problem, but the WBC and VADA are doing their part to help clean it up.”
