Dec 3 (Reuters) - Unified middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly tested positive for a banned substance and has been pulled from Saturday's scheduled unification fight with WBA champion Erislandy Lara, promoter Premier Boxing Champions said on Tuesday.
Alimkhanuly, who successfully defended his WBO and IBF titles against Anauel Ngamissengue in April, reportedly tested positive for meldonium, a substance banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) since 2016.
The failed test was conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA).
"I have always supported clean sport, you know this well. I was surprised when I read the news," the 32-year-old Kazakh fighter said on social media.
"VADA took the first test and said everything was clean. I have not made any changes to my vitamins. I don't know what happened with the second test, so I requested a retest."
In Alimkhanuly's absence, WBA Middleweight World Champion Lara will now defend his title against Johan Gonzalez.
(Reporting by Suramya Kaushik in Bengaluru; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)
