Shock hit the heavyweight ranks earlier this year when Mihai Nistor, the man who has defeated Anthony Joshua, Filip Hrgovic, and Otto Wallin, got dropped twice by Colby Madison.
The event made headlines around the world as Nistor clawed his way back into the fight to score a third straight knockout in the professional ranks.
Nistor’s undefeated run with promoters Golden Boy was still intact. But the Romanian’s hardened reputation got besmirched.
World Boxing News has since learned that his opponent Madison tested positive for a banned substance in the aftermath. Nistor’s team informed WBN that it took months for them to find out what transpired.
Speaking exclusively to WBN, a close representative of Nistor’s detailed what went down from their side after the bout on July 9th.
They said: “Other things were in play before this bout that you must hear from Nistor himself if they are to be shared.
“I can tell you this, that directly after the bout, Nistor approached Laurentiu Popa, his advisor, at ringside. He told Popa that he had fought hundreds of fights, many against who were well-experienced boxers, much more than Madison. But something was very abnormal about this fighter.
“To his credit, Nistor requested Madison get tested right then. This request got granted. But after testing, Nistor heard nothing.
“In August, Popa Called the California State Athletic Commission to inquire on the status of the testing. They told him if it is positive there will be a press release.
“But still, we heard nothing.
“Then, on November 15th, We were looking for any mention in the press when we saw the suspension [indefinitely] tagged on Madison’s BoxRec profile.
“On November 16th, Laurentiu Popa contacted California Athletic Commission. The CSAC told him verbally that the test came back with a high level of synthetic testosterone.
“At that time, Popa requested video footage from the public hearing. This footage was supposed to arrive on November 30th. He is still waiting.”
As Nistor won the fight, there’s not much that can change regarding what happened. But an acknowledgment of why he got dropped in the first and second rounds seems to be the best possible outcome.
The 31-year-old wants the truth revealed so he can continue his career without mentions of him getting put on the canvas twice. The unusual happening can now get attributed to the positive test in the case of Colby Madison.
HEAVYWEIGHT SWITCH
WBN also got informed of a promotional switch for Nistor. The heavy-handed puncher has now secured his release from Golden Boy and Oscar De La Hoya.
“Nistor is a freelancer now,” the team member told WBN. “In September, he asked for a release from GoldenBoy.
“Since going pro in 2019, early on it was hard to get fighters to fight Nistor from the beginning of his pro career. The rumor was fighters were afraid to fight the “Beast from Bucharest. Therefore, on September 24th they granted Nistor’s release request.”
Nistor is now looking forward to continuing his promising heavyweight career with a clean slate and a 3-0 record to be proud of moving forward.
Phil Jay is an experienced boxing news writer.
