Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. of Mexico is shown after losing his WBC middleweight title to Sergio Martinez of Argentina at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada Sept. 15, 2012.
Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012 | 11:14 a.m.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission passed a motion to temporarily suspend Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. for a failed drug test following his bout against Sergio Martinez at a meeting Tuesday.
Chavez tested positive for marijuana metabolites after a unanimous-decision loss to Martinez on Sept. 15 at the Thomas & Mack Center. Placing a fighter on temporary suspension until the commission can hold a disciplinary hearing is standard practice.
“This has not been heard by this commission in a formal manner yet,” NSAC Chairman Skip Avansino said. “Mr. Chavez will have all rights in the future to have a full-fledged disciplinary action.”
No date was set for the impending hearing Tuesday, but it’s expected to take place before the end of the year.
The World Boxing Council fined Chavez $20,000 and suspended the former champion indefinitely last week for the transgression. The NSAC punishment is likely to be more severe.
UFC welterweight Nick Diaz, for example, received a yearlong suspension from the NSAC and lost 30 percent of his purse after testing positive for marijuana following a fight earlier this year. Like Diaz, this is Chavez’s second run-in with the commission.
But nothing is certain until Chavez appears in front of commission.
Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
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