At the age of 43 and with a somewhat checkered past, Jones is likely to be, at best, an opponent for Antonio Tarver?
Former WBA World cruiserweight champion, 43-year-old Guillermo ?El Felino? Jones (39-3-2, 31 KOs), from Colon, Panama, has been forbidden to fight for the last two years. He was suspended in 2013 after failing the second of two drug tests, where the banned diuretic Furosemide, which is used for losing weight and as a masking agent, was found in his urine sample.
The first suspension occurred after his May 17, 2013 war with Denis Lebedev in Myakinino, Russia. The second suspension occurred before the Jones-Lebedev rematch.
The future of Guillermo Jones was addressed yesterday at a press conference in Panama City, Panama, in advance of the WBA?s 94th Convention.
WBA Vice President Gilberto Jesus Mendoza signaled his and the organization?s intentions regarding the suspended fighter.
?After reviewing the case,? said Mendoza, ?we have to remember that he tested positive for Furosemide after the first fight with Denis Lebedev. Later there was the issue of the rematch where he also tested positive for the same substance in a pre-fight test. Guillermo Jones wrote to the WBA, asking that his suspension be reduced and limited to two years and that he was thinking about boxing at heavyweight.?
Much time and many resources have been committed to the WBA?s KO Drugs program. Under the circumstances, it wasn?t as easy as just saying, ?Go ahead and fight.? Mendoza agreed to allow Guillermo Jones to compete again, but ?with a number of conditions. He must submit to random anti-doping tests during training, whether it?s in the United States, Panama, or wherever he will train.?
In an attempt to prevent what happened before from happening again, Mendoza said that Jones will only be permitted to fight at heavyweight, and that he must have two fights, as well as pass any and all drug tests, before being added to the heavyweight rankings.
?He will not be recognized for a regional or world title before fulfilling these requirements.?
It?s hard to imagine what effect the former cruiserweight champion can have on the heavyweight division. And at the age of 43 and with a somewhat checkered past, he?s likely to be, at best, an opponent for Antonio Tarver.
