Mexican superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KO’s) has been stripped of his ‘Ring Magazine’ middleweight title.
The decision has been made following Alvarez’s suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Comission (NSAC) for testing positive for the banned substance clenbuterol before his highly-anticipated rematch with middleweight kingpin Gennady Golovkin in May.
Despite being seemingly vindicated by a hair follicle test, the ban was upheld by the NSAC, with Alvarez expected to return in the reschedule rematch against ‘GGG’ in September.
According to publisher Stefan Friedman, the evidence garnered to vindicate Alvarez was deemed as ‘inconclusive’ and therefore decided to strip ‘Canelo’ following a vote from the Ring Editorial Board.
Friedman would go on to state that with Alvarez expected to return to action in September, Ring would re-evaluate his standing in their middleweight rankings, as well as their vaunted ‘pound-for-pound’ list – both of which had seen ‘Canelo’ feature highly in recent years.
With recent reports suggesting Alvarez and Golovkin are due to seal terms for a September 15th rematch in Las Vegas, the former WBC World middleweight champion will be afforded an opportunity to re-establish himself on top of the middleweight tree.
📩 An open letter from Ring Magazine publisher Stefan Friedman, who confirms Canelo Alvarez has now been stripped of his Ring middleweight title. pic.twitter.com/yxxg5rS7vL
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) June 12, 2018