Kevin Hayler Brown has a new opponent and lower stakes for his next fight.
BoxingScene has confirmed that Brown will no longer face Cletus Seldin, who was pulled from their secondary WBA interim title fight after producing an adverse finding for accelerated levels of testosterone.
Brown, 8-0 (3 KOs), will instead face Amos Cowart, 13-2-1 (10 KOs) atop Saturday’s Boxlab Promotions show from Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida.
Because of the last-minute change, the bout was downgraded to a 10-round regional title fight. The development comes amid the WBA’s 104th annual convention, which is taking place in Orlando for the fourth consecutive year.
“Cletus Seldin is OUT of the main event,” Boxlab’s Amaury Piedra confirmed on Saturday via X, though without specifying the reason. “Amos ‘2 Smoove’ Cowart (13-2) is now the opponent for Kevin Brown (8-0), as Kevin will now defend his WBA Continental Americas title.”
Veteran boxing reporter Carlos Linares was the first to report Seldin’s positive drug test.
Seldin has a history of testing positive for testosterone. The 39-year-old Long Island-bred Seldin was guilty of the infraction in separate tests in 2016 and 2017, the latter of which resulted in a canceled June 2017 fight with Mike Arnaoutis in Huntington, New York.
The only real disciplinary action taken was his not being eligible to participate in WBC-sanctioned bouts for six months. The 2017 infraction came while Seldin was not yet licensed by the New York State Athletic Commission. He managed to not only avoid a suspension but was also licensed by that same commission for a fight later that September – in Huntington, where he has long served as a local draw.
Seldin was also the subject of a personal investigation conducted by a law firm representing former two-division champ Zab Judah after their June 2019 clash, won by Seldin via 11th-round knockout. Judah was rushed to the hospital after the fight for emergency surgery to treat an intracranial hemorrhage.
Judah retained the services of the law firm Elefterakis, Elefterakis and Panek “to investigate all circumstances involving the fight.” Included among his demands were access to the pre-fight drug test results, though he also specified that he was not accusing Seldin of any wrongdoing. The matter never advanced beyond initial stages and the official result stood.
Seldin will now have to ride out an investigation and plead his case with the Florida Athletic Commission, the presiding authority for Saturday’s show.
Brown will still be seeking to rack up his third win of a productive 2025 campaign. The entirety of his pro career has taken place at Caribe Royale, where Piedra – his promoter – serves as its managing director. A 31-year-old Cuban export, Brown has gone the 10-round distance in five of his past six starts, including unanimous decision victories over Esteuri Suero and Juan Meza earlier this year.
