Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. suspended over failed drug test
By MICHELLE RINDELS Associated Press February 28, 2013 2:56PM
FILE - In this Sept. 15, 2012, file photo, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., left, lands a punch against Sergio Martinez during the 12th round of their WBC middleweight title fight in Las Vegas. Chavez was suspended for nine months and fined $900,000 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013, over a failed drug test last year. The 26-year-old Mexican fighter tested positive for marijuana in September after his loss to Martinez. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)
Updated: February 28, 2013 2:56PM
LAS VEGAS — The Nevada State Athletic Commission has fined and suspended boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. over a failed drug test last year.
The 27-year-old Mexican fighter tested positive for marijuana in September after his first professional loss. Chavez (46-1-1) was suspended Thursday for nine months and fined $900,000, which amounts to 30 percent of his $3 million purse for the fight against Sergio Martinez.
The commission could have banned him for one year and penalized him for up to 100 percent of his purse.
At a meeting in January, commissioners questioned why Chavez had not yet returned to Nevada for disciplinary action. Attorney Donald Campbell said the former middleweight champion had been stuck in Mexico, unable to obtain a visa.
