THE WBA have been correctly slated for ranking British boxer Joe Fournier at No. 11 in their light-heavyweight ratings.
He won their vacant International title scoring a second round knockdown on his way to a sixth round stoppage of Dominican Wilmer Mejia on December 17. This despite the fact that Fournier is clearly shown on BoxRec to have tested positive for a banned substance at a fight in Belgium in June 2016 and being given a two-year suspension which was reduced to 18 months.
That means his suspension does not end until June 2018. Despite that, Fournier fought four times in the Dominican Republic between June and December 2016 when he was under suspension. In addition, two sources advised me that they had informed the WBA last month that Fournier was under suspension.
The WBA actions are disgraceful but there is another question – who is licensing Fournier? The British Board would respect the Belgian positive test result and not permit Fournier to fight in Britain but someone has chosen to licence a boxer despite knowing he is suspended and the WBA do not licence boxers so they are not the only culprits here.
