A statement from Team Soliman regarding the ongoing anti-doping matter in Germany in connection to middleweight contender Sam Soliman’s IBF title-elimination bout with Felix Sturm was released on the Australian veteran’s website over the weekend.

Soliman won a close unanimous decision over Sturm in the former titleholder native Germany on Feb. 1. However, one month later Germany’s boxing authority claimed that he had tested positive for a banned designer drug with his A sample. Soliman’s team denied any wrong doing and did not want the German authorities, which they claimed were too cozy with Sturm, who was the promoter of the Feb. 1 bout, to handle the B sample.

The drug supposedly found in Soliman’s system was later identified as oxilofrine, an amphetamine-class stimulant.

The following statement appeared on Soliman’s website:

Doping rules exist to prevent unfairness in sports, including boxing. We applaud them. However, when organizations violate their own anti-doping rules and procedures, as has happened in this case, honest boxers like Sam Soliman can be falsely accused and suffer serious reputational harm. Mr. Soliman did not commit any doping offense whatsoever. He did not consume any substance outside the IBF rules of his bout, and conducted himself honorably, diligently, and in full compliance with the relevant IBF anti-doping provisions. The A-Sample did not test positive for any substance identified under the relevant rules, and testing of the B-Sample, as yet unopened, with identical results will in no way change that truth. The B-Sample should be opened by a licensed, trusted, and impartial laboratory in the United States and tested for the relevant, agreed-upon substances under the proper conditions. We look forward to Mr. Soliman’s full exoneration and the continuation of his career as an athlete of integrity.

Team Soliman Management. March 23, 2013.

Mr. Sam Soliman is represented by an international team of sports-law experts: Michael Bates, Esq. Melbourne, Kurt Emhoff, Esq. Brooklyn, New York, Rick Collins, Esq. Mineola, New York, and Prof. Dr. Rainer Cherkeh, Hanover, Germany.