Boxing News: Raymundo Beltran Fails Drug Test, Faces Suspension

Raymundo Beltran of Mexico failed a post-fight drug test after defeating Takahiro Ao of Japan on May 1. The 33-year-old Mexican is expected to be suspended and fined by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Beltran defeated the 31-year-old Ao via a Round 2 knockout at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, and would have won the vacant World Boxing Organization world lightweight title but did not make the weight.

BoxingScene.com first reported the failed drug test and added that Beltran’s upcoming HBO televised with compatriot Humberto Soto is now off the table. Beltran, who tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol, was scheduled to fight Soto in a co-main event bout with the Timothy Bradley vs. Jessie Vargas match-up on June 27.

"I talked to Ray and he doesn't think he took anything illegal," Cameron Dunkin, Beltran's manager, told ESPN.com. "I asked him if he had been taking any pills and he said he took some supplements he was given by his guys, but he didn't think they had anything [illegal] in them. I'm getting a list of what he was taking.”

Dunkin added that Beltran is “devastated” by the development because of the lost opportunity of fighting Soto and felt “betrayed” by some people in his own team.

Carl Moretti, the vice president for Beltran’s promoter, Top Rank, said that they are disappointed with Beltran and hopes that fighters “learn not to try to cheat the system.”

Beltran, who has 30 wins against 7 losses and 1 draw in his career, will most likely be stripped of the victory against Ao.