Report: Kenichi Ogawa Fails Drug Test, Could Be Stripped Of Super Featherweight Title
If it wasn't bad enough for Tevin Farmer that he lost the IBF super featherweight title to Kenichi Ogawa due to one of the most controversial judging decisions of 2017, the plot has thickened with news that Ogawa failed a drug test.
ESPN's Dan Rafael reports that Ogawa was suspended on January 18 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for failing his drug test. He tested positive for synthetic testosterone. If the commission finds him guilty in a hearing in the coming months, the fight result would be change to a no contest and he would be stripped of the title. The B sample will also be tested before any decision is taken.
Farmer reacted to the news saying he is happy that he will get another chance at the belt he felt he should have won in the first place.
The two fought on December 9 on HBO with Ogawa getting a controversial split decision (115-113, 116-112, 112-116) over Farmer, securing his first boxing world title. The fight was televised live on HBO and Harold Lederman, who serves as HBO’s unofficial ringside judge, thought Farmer won decisively (117-111). CompuBox statistics also indicated Farmer won. CompuBox counted 158 of 525 overall punches for Farmer, 59 more than Ogawa (99 of 445). Farmer connected with 132 of 299 power punches, according to CompuBox, 40 more than Ogawa (92 of 292).
The title originally belonged to Gervonta Davis but he was stripped of the title after missing weight for a title defense on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor pay-per-view card.
