Deontay Wilder may be a ?clean champion,? but the jury is still out on his greatness; drug cheat Ortiz was supposed to put that to the test?
Mauricio Sulaiman broke the news last night from Baku, Azerbaijan, via Twitter.
@WBCBoxing has received confirmation from @Vada_Testing that Luis Ortiz has tested positive for a banned substance under #CleanBoxingProgram
Luis ?King Kong? Ortiz (27-0, 23 KOs), the hard-hitting southpaw from Miami, Florida, by way of Camaguey, Cuba, was scheduled to fight reigning and defending WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (38-0, 37 KOs), ?The Bronze Bomber? from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on November 4 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The fight was a much anticipated put-up-or-shut-up type affair. But it?s now in jeopardy and will likely be canceled since the challenger tested positive for PEDs a second time in as many years.
Random blood and urine tests administered by Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) prior to the fight detected traces of Chlorothiazide and Hydrochlorothiazide. Those substances are used to treat high blood pressure and hypertension. They are also used as diuretics and masking agents to prevent detection of more pernicious drugs.
The promoter of the fight, Lou DiBella, told ESPN that he was ?flabbergasted? and ?crestfallen,? before praising the champ.
?Deontay Wilder is a great champion and a clean champion,? said DiBella, ?and probably has been victimized more than any other fighter in the history of the sport.?
Wilder may be a ?clean champion,? but the jury is still out on his greatness; drug cheat Ortiz was supposed to put that to the test. But to claim that Wilder has ?probably has been victimized more than any other fighter in the history of the sport? is a blatant rewriting of history. Has he been ?victimized more? than Jack Johnson? Has he been ?victimized more? than Muhammad Ali? It sounds good, in a woe-is-me sort of way, but where is the evidence?
Many are calling for a lifetime ban. They?ve had it up to here with repeat offenders. But when future generations look back on his career and ask, ?Whatever happened to Luis Ortiz?? a quote from the original ?King Kong? says it all.
?He was a king and a god in the world he knew, but now he comes to civilization merely a captive?a show to gratify your curiosity. Ladies and gentlemen, look at Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World.?
