Photo/Illutration Champion Kazuto Ioka, left, takes on Kosei Tanaka in a World Boxing Organization super flyweight title bout in Tokyo on Dec. 31, 2020. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

A failed doping test by world champion boxer Kazuto Ioka has raised concerns including whether he can properly challenge the result, since no samples were kept for retesting, and the delay in notification. 

According to several sources, the positive result involved Ioka, 32, who on Dec. 31 defended his World Boxing Organization’s super flyweight title by defeating fellow Japanese Kosei Tanaka, 25, in an eighth-round technical knockout.

Ioka is the first Japanese boxer to hold championship belts in four weight divisions. The bout and doping test were overseen by the Japan Boxing Commission (JBC).

According to sources, two urine samples were taken from Ioka on the day of the fight. In January, one of the samples was tested and found to be positive. That led the JBC to ask a different testing agency to analyze the second sample. The second test found traces of several banned chemical substances.

Under JBC rules, boxers found to have positive doping results have the right to file an appeal or ask for another test.

Once that procedure is completed, an ethics panel made up of outside experts looks into the matter to determine if a doping violation occurred and what disciplinary measures are appropriate.

However, according to sources, the JBC has not stored any urine samples from Ioka that could be used for retesting. Moreover, Ioka was not informed of the positive result for more than two months after the result was known.

While the ethics panel will give Ioka a chance to state his case, it is also expected to look into whether the initial testing procedure was conducted appropriately.

Meanwhile, a lawyer representing Ioka raised serious doubts about how the JBC has handled the matter, claiming that appropriate procedures were not followed. In written responses to The Asahi Shimbun, the lawyer also denied that Ioka used any banned chemical substance.

According to JBC officials, this was the first time a positive result was found in a test it carried out in connection to a world title bout.

“We had to be especially careful because this could affect Ioka’s future as a boxer," said Yuhei Nagata, a JBC executive. "We will ask experts to look into the matter in a fair manner.”

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