After the WBC removed several fighters from its newly released October divisional rankings this past Tuesday for their failure to enroll in the sanctioning organization's mandatory Clean Boxing Program, several of the boxers dropped have enrolled and will return to the rankings next month, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman announced.
The WBC, which has been at the forefront of drug testing among boxing's sanctioning bodies, is the only one to implement a year-round random drug testing program for all of its titleholders and ranked boxers. It is overseen by the Las Vegas-based Voluntary Anti-Doping Association and when 25 ranked fighters missed last week's enrollment deadline they were dropped from the ratings, including such notable contenders as former heavyweight titleholder David Haye; former light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal; welterweight contenders Amir Khan and Lamont Peterson, both former junior welterweight titleholders; and lightweight Felix Verdejo, one of boxing's top prospects.
However, after the fighters were dropped from the rankings, many of them completed the enrollment process, Sulaiman said.
"The WBC has received communications from many boxers who were taken out of the WBC ratings, and most of them have now finished the enrollment process, which for different reasons was not completed in due time," Sulaiman said. "All those boxers who enroll in the program will be returned to the WBC ratings in the month of November following the ratings criteria of the WBC, of course, to determine in which spot they are to be ranked.
"The WBC priority is to work in education and awareness to help all involved in boxing learn the dangers of PED use, as well as those illegal procedures which eventually create tremendous health problems for the athletes."
Among the more prominent fighters who completed their enrollment are Khan, Pascal, Verdejo, junior middleweight contender Vanes Martirosyan and former junior welterweight title challenger Hank Lundy. Sulaiman said several others are in the process of completing their enrollment.
"It is very important to also mention that more than 70 boxers who are not mandated to enroll -- as they are not ranked in the top 15 -- have voluntarily submitted and enrolled in this historic program," Sulaiman said. "The WBC salutes its champions and all of the top 15 rated fighters, but additional recognition must go to the others who also took it upon themselves to enter this program. It says so much about concern for their welfare and respect for the sport.
"The work has been monumental but extremely satisfactory, and a new era in our sport has begun as we all work together to make the sport safer. The WBC and VADA will work diligently in all aspects of the program."
Some of the fighters not ranked in the WBC's top 15 of their division to enroll include heavyweights Oscar Rivas and Lucas Browne; cruiserweight Stivens Bujaj; light heavyweights Radivoje "Hot Rod" Kalajdzic and Mike Lee; super middleweights David Benavidez and Dimitri Chudinov; middleweights Hugo Centeno, Ivan Golub and former junior middleweight titleholder Yuri Foreman; junior middleweights Willie Nelson and Ramon Alvarez; welterweight Chris Algieri, a former junior welterweight world titleholder; junior welterweights Mauricio Herrera, Sergey Lipinets and Ivan Baranchyk; junior lightweight Billy Dib, a former featherweight world titleholder; featherweight Albert Pagara; and bantamweight Arthur Villanueva.