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Home » Exclusive: Zhakiyanov complaint filed after Burnett misses post-fight mandatory testing

Exclusive: Zhakiyanov complaint filed after Burnett misses post-fight mandatory testing

Zhakiyanov, trained by Ricky Hatton, was beaten on points by Burnett in Belfast last month, losing his WBA title at the SSE Arena in Belfast.

During the aftermath, Burnett was taken to hospital as a precaution due to suffering from headaches following what was a brutal battle with the Kazakh puncher.

It’s been explained to WBN that Burnett was supposed to undertake mandatory drug tests (as in any world title fight), although the Northern Irishman didn’t partake due to his illness and was subsequently not subjected to the basic protocol.

Philip Fondu, Zhakiyanov’s manager, is now seeking a ruling from the two governing bodies involved in the process from the October 21 contest.

“We have filed a complaint with the IBF and WBA over the fact Ryan Burnett missed the mandatory drug tests,” Fondu exclusively told World Boxing News.

“A ruling is due soon as we would like to know why these procedures were not undertaken.”

Burnett, 25, has since made a full recovery, whilst Zhakiyanov is still coming to terms with his second career defeat.

Coach Hatton commented on the fact Zhakiyanov’s efforts were not reflected in the scorecards on the night, although wouldn’t go as far as calling for a rematch.

Scores of 119-109 and 118-110 didn’t really give a good case for Zhakiyanov getting a second helping, whilst 116-112 was a fairer summation of how things went down on Burnett’s home soil.

Phil Jay is Editor of World Boxing News. Follow on Twitter @PhilDJay