Billy Joe Saunders may lose WBO title, Demetrius Andrade fight is OFF

BILLY JOE SAUNDERS could lose his WBO middleweight championship  thanks to his Massachusetts boxing licence being denied. He will not be fighting Demetrius Andrade in Boston, Massachusetts, on October 20.

This brutal double blow was dished out to Saunders, 26-0 (12), this evening after a failed VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Association) drug test on August 30 in Sheffield returned “adverse analytical findings” on account of oxilofrine, a stimulant, being detected in the Hatfield fighter’s system.

The stimulant in question, chemically linked to asthma medication ephedrine, was revealed to only be banned under the World Anti-Doping’s in-competition code, which meant Saunders, who claims to

have ingested the substance while out of competition, would not have failed a test conducted by UK Anti-Doping (UKAD), nor breached the rules of the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC).

However, as well as a decongestant, oxilofrine also can also burn fat, increase the production of adrenaline, and help with the oxygenation of the blood. It is the same amphetamine that resulted in suspensions for sprinters Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell in 2013, and today the boxing commission in Massachusetts voted to deny Saunders, the WBO middleweight champion since 2015, a licence for his upcoming fight.

Dialled in on speaker phone, Saunders, 29, responded: “You can suck my p***k.”

More to follow…