The WBA has rendered Alberto Puello its super lightweight champion in recess as it attempts to resolve his status with the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
BoxingScene.com confirmed Wednesday that the WBA changed Puello’s championship status for failing a performance-enhancing drug test last month. The WBA consequently has sanctioned the 12-round bout between Rolando “Rolly” Romero and Ismael Barroso for its vacant 140-pound crown.
Romero (14-1, 12 KOs), of North Las Vegas, Nevada, and Miami’s Barroso (24-3-2, 22 KOs) will headline a “Showtime Championship Boxing” tripleheader Saturday night from The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The fifth-ranked Romero, who will make his debut at the super lightweight limit, was scheduled to challenge Puello (21-0, 10 KOs) for the WBA 140-pound title Saturday night.
The 40-year-old Barroso is the WBA’s mandatory challenger in the super lightweight division. The native Venezuelan was scheduled to fight on the Puello-Romero undercard, but he was chosen to replace Puello as Romero’s opponent once Puello tested positive for Clomiphene, a banned substance.
The WBA also ruled that the Romero-Barroso winner must face England’s Ohara Davies no later than 120 days from Saturday. Davies (25-2, 18 KOs) is the WBA’s second-ranked contender in the 140-pound division.
If Puello’s B sample provided to the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association comes back positive for Clomiphene, he likely will be stripped of his title. Puello has a hearing scheduled for May 17 with the Nevada State Athletic Commission regarding his temporary suspension.
Clomiphene is usually prescribed to women who struggle with infertility. Clomiphene can act as a performance enhancer in male athletes as well, as it increases testosterone levels.
England’s Conor Benn previously tested positive for Clomiphene before his fight against British rival Chris Eubank Jr. The Benn-Eubank bout, which was scheduled for October 8 at O2 Arena in London, was canceled October 4 due to Benn’s failed test.
The Dominican Republic’s Puello (21-0, 10 KOs) won the then-vacant WBA super lightweight title in his most recent fight. The 28-year-old southpaw beat Uzbekistan’s Batyr Akhmedov (9-2, 8 KOs) by split decision in their 12-round fight August 20 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
Akhmedov, meanwhile, will square off against Chicago’s Kenneth Sims Jr. (19-2-1, 7 KOs) in the opener of Showtime’s three-bout broadcast Saturday night (9 p.m. EDT; 6 p.m. PDT). The third-ranked Akhmedov and the 10th-rated Sims will meet in a WBA 140-pound elimination match.
Rances Barthelemy (29-2-1, 15 KOs, 1 NC), a 140-pound contender from Cuba, and Omar Juarez (14-1, 5 KOs), of Brownsville, Texas, are set to fight in the 10-round co-feature Saturday night.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.