Days after being publicized for a positive drug result by the International Testing Agency, Russian light heavyweight Imam Khataev, 10-0 (9 KOs), has been cleared to fight recent interim champion David Morrell, 11-1 (9 KOs), on Saturday by the Association of Boxing Commissions.
Both fighters made weight Friday and the bout will be on the DAZN-streamed pay-per-view undercard, for which a super middleweight clash between Edgar Berlanga and Hamzah Sheeraz is the main event. The fights will take place at Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York, a major venue for the U.S. Open tennis championships.
Two officials connected to the bout told BoxingScene that the ITA and International Boxing Association never contacted the ABC after issuing a news release reporting that Khataev would be suspended two years until June 2027 - in IBA competition only - over a positive April 2024 result for the banned substance Clomifene. The ITA explained in its statement that Clomifene can be used to “increase testosterone levels.” The ITA does not report to any other professional boxing governing body, which may be why the ABC never received report of the test result.
Without the contact and without a request to suspend Khataev, the ABC and New York State Athletic Commission allowed the bout to proceed.
An official close to Morrell said the Cuban “felt bad” for Khataev after he passed multiple tests by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association for this bout and was put in limbo at the 11th hour by this ITA-IBA report.
In a statement earlier this week, Eye of the Tiger, Khataev's promoter, wrote, “The adverse finding was unexpected and deeply concerning to Imam." Imam categorically denies the intentional or knowingly ingestion of any banned substances, and insists that the only possible explanation for this adverse analytical finding is food contamination.
“Indeed, Imam’s anti-doping control took place at dawn during Ramadan, shortly after the nightly feast that breaks the fast. At the time, Imam had a high-protein diet and must have unknowingly consumed clomifene-contaminated food, which, in turn, must have directly affected the adverse analytical finding.”
The timing of the IBA's announcement was similar to their complaints regarding Imane Khelif, an Algerian boxer, who won gold at the 2024 Olympics. The IBA sent out news releases in which they wrote that Khelif did not meet the criteria to compete in the female category in an IBA event just before and as the Olympics progressed.
