PANAMA CITY, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Panama's world boxing champion Guillermo "El Felino" Jones Monday denied accusations he resorted to drugs to gain an advantage in his fight against Russia's Denis Lebedev in May.
Jones, who holds a World Boxing Association (WBA) title in the cruiserweight category, told the Panamanian daily Critica in a phone interview that he did not use any banned substances to drop weight before the fight against Lebedev, which he won by knockout in Round 11.
According to the daily, Jones said "my promoter (Don King) told me they will handle this situation, that I shouldn't worry. I'm calm and I'm not worried, because we are fine and, as I said, all this about doping is an excuse from the Russians. I won the fight. "
On Friday, the WBA reported Jones' title was "under review" due to suspicions of doping.
Jones and Lebedev had until Monday to authorize the opening of a B test to confirm the results of an initial test that allegedly indicated the presence of a weightloss substance in Jones' urine.
The daily added it spoke with WBA Executive Vice President Gilberto Jesus Mendoza, who confirmed that on Friday they had received a statement from Don King's lawyers.
Mendoza said the association would issue a statement on the matter later Monday.