Reports: WBA champ Toney tested positive for steroidsNEW YORK (AP) — James Toney's reign as a heavyweight champion could be a brief one amid reports he tested positive for steroids after his WBA title fight with John Ruiz.
The New York State Athletic Commission declined comment, but Newsday and the Las Vegas Review-Journal quoted sources Wednesday as saying Toney tested positive for the steroid nandrolone after his April 30 win over Ruiz.
Athletic commission chairman Ron Scott Stevens said Wednesday he was "not at liberty" to report results of the drug test. Scott said, however, there was a possibility he could report later in the day to Fight Fax, which handles an official national list of suspensions for boxers.
Toney could not be reached for comment, and his promoter, Dan Goossen, did not return calls.
If Toney tested positive, he could be stripped of his title by the WBA. Under WBA regulations, the title would be given back to Ruiz.
Ruiz announced his retirement after losing a 12-round unanimous decision to Toney at Madison Square Garden, but on Monday said he was not going to retire after all and would fight again.
Toney became just the third former middleweight champion to win a piece of the heavyweight title when he won the decision over Ruiz. The 5-foot-9 Toney weighed 232 pounds for the fight.
Some states recently began testing fighters for steroids, mostly in title fights, but only one other fighter of note has tested positive. That was Fernando Vargas, who was fined $100,000 and suspended for nine months following his loss to Oscar De La Hoya in September 2002.
Unlike Toney, whose body was soft and had visible fat, Vargas was muscular and chiseled in his fight with De La Hoya.
Toney is one of four fighters who own various pieces of the heavyweight title.
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