Subriel Matias will move forward with his January 10 junior welterweight title defense after the WBC ruled he was “not guilty” of deliberately using performance-enhancing drugs. The announcement came Wednesday at the WBC convention in Bangkok, clearing the way for Matias’ showdown with unbeaten challenger Dalton Smith at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
Matias tested positive for Ostarine - a banned selective androgen receptor modulator known to enhance testosterone and endurance - from a sample collected on November 9. Despite that finding, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman stated the organization is convinced the result stemmed from contaminated supplements, not intentional doping.
“He is not guilty, he has not been found at any level of consuming performance-enhancing drugs,” Sulaiman said, while also noting that the WBC’s Clean Boxing Program may need updates due to the growing number of supplements containing prohibited substances.
Though cleared to fight, Matias will be placed on one year of probation and must undergo additional testing leading up to the bout. The winner between Matias and Smith will then be ordered to face mandatory challenger Alberto Puello.
Image Credit: WBC