Francisco Rodriguez Jr. will keep punching rather than sit on the sidelines. The WBC has not suspended the Mexican after his punishing points win over Galal Yafai was overturned when VADA detected the banned stimulant heptaminol in Rodriguez’s post-fight sample. Instead, the sanctioning body has placed the 33-year-old on a 12-month probation, flipped the June bout in Birmingham to a no-contest, reinstated Olympic gold medallist Yafai as interim flyweight champion and, crucially, ordered an immediate rematch.
The ruling follows what the WBC called a “thorough factual and scientific review.” Investigators accepted Rodriguez’s claim that the substance was ingested “accidentally” via an over-the-counter energy booster he had listed on his Clean Boxing Program forms. In exchange for admitting the violation, Rodriguez avoids a ban but must remain drug-free until June 2026 or face harsher sanctions.
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Rodriguez’s one-sided dismantling of Yafai set CompuBox volume records and left the Briton hospitalised for two weeks, yet the result now reads as though it never happened. Yafai’s camp is furious: brother Gamal branded the decision “a load of conmen,” while a team source called the leniency “absolutely ridiculous.”
Because the fight took place under British Boxing Board of Control jurisdiction, the BBBoC will conduct its own hearing — meaning further penalties, or even a suspension, could still land. For now, however, the WBC’s verdict supersedes: belt back to Yafai, Rodriguez on notice, and a second meeting looming once the Board gives its word.
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