Luis Ortiz fails drug test, Deontay Wilder fight likely to be cancelled

WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (38-0, 37 KOs) was supposed to face Cuba’s Luis Ortiz (27-0-2 NCs, 23 KOs) on November 4th, but it looks as if that will no longer be happening. ESPN’s Dan Rafael has details on Ortiz’s failed VADA drug test:

According to the letter sent by VADA president Dr. Margaret Goodman to Sulaiman and others disclosing the positive test, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN, Ortiz gave a urine sample for a random drug test conducted on Sept. 22 at his training camp in Miami. The results were returned on Thursday, and Ortiz's "A" sample tested positive for the banned diuretics chlorothiazide and hydrochlorothiazide, which are used to treat high blood pressure but also can be used as masking agents for performance-enhancing drug use.

If hydrochlorothiazide sounds familiar, that’s because former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos also recently tested positive for the banned substance, which led to his removal from UFC 215. Unlike dos Santos, Ortiz has failed a drug test before, having popped for nandrolone when he fought Lateef Kayode in 2014. “The Real King Kong” had his TKO win vs. Kayode overturned to a no contest, and he was suspended for a whopping eight months by the Nevada Athletic Commission.

While the fight isn’t officially cancelled, it’s almost certain that it will be off, and that’d be the third time in 18 months that Wilder has had a fight scrapped because his opponent failed an out-of-competition drug test. Last year, Wilder’s showdown with Alexander Povetkin was called off after Povetkin tested positive for meldonium. Wilder’s team successfully sued Povetkin’s side for more than $5 million in damages, citing breach of contract. Earlier this year, Wilder was set to face Andrzej Wawrzyk in a FOX-televised main event, but Wawrzyk flunked his drug test and was replaced by Gerald Washington.

Wilder vs. Ortiz was slated to air on Showtime, but now it’s unknown as to what the future holds for Deontay, and whether or not he’ll remain on the card.