<
>

Alejandra Jimenez suspended 9 months, stripped of title for doping

The World Boxing Council has suspended super middleweight Alejandra Jimenez for a nine-month period and stripped her of her title, stemming from a positive doping result in January.

Jimenez, of Mexico, defeated Franchon Crews-Dezurn by split decision on Jan. 11 in San Antonio to win the WBC and WBO belts. However, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association announced Jan. 24 that it found traces of the banned substance stanozolol in the "A" sample Jimenez provided the day before the fight, prompting an investigation.

The WBC subsequently changed the result of the fight to a no-decision. With that ruling, Crews-Dezurn was restored as the WBC super middleweight champion, a title she first won in 2018. The WBO stripped Jimenez of the 168-pound title in March and restored Crews-Dezurn as champion.

In a statement, the WBC said Jimenez was suspended because, while she acknowledged the positive result, she denied knowingly taking a banned substance. Her suspension ends Oct. 21.

Jimenez, a former WBC heavyweight champion, will also be on probation through October 2021 and will be subject to further testing. She was not fined.