Japan’s Kenichi Ogawa has been stripped of his International Boxing Federation super featherweight title and suspended for six months for failing a doping test last December, his Teiken Gym said Thursday.
News of the positive test broke in January, more than a month after Ogawa won the then-vacant title and improved to 23-1 (17 knockouts) by beating American Tevin Farmer in a split decision on Dec. 9 in Las Vegas.
According to an ESPN report, Ogawa tested positive for two forms of androstanediol, a synthetic testosterone, in a urine test conducted Dec. 5, with the result not known until after the bout.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission invalidated the fight and determined a six-month ban for the 30-year-old Ogawa at its monthly meeting on Wednesday, it said.
In a statement released by Teiken Gym in January, Ogawa denied knowingly taking a banned substance.
“One cannot deny that the tests were positive. But I never intentionally took a banned substance. We will cooperate fully so the cause can be discovered,” Ogawa said.
A source close to the matter said at the time that medicine for Ogawa’s skin condition may have triggered the positive result, with the boxer having submitted the medication in question to the NSAC.
Source:Espn
