On Friday, Golden Boy released a statement lauding the WBC’s decision to reinstate Franchon Crews-Dezurn as its super middleweight beltholder.

“First, I’d like to thank the fans for rooting for Franchon [Crews-Dezurn] to get her belt back that she deserves,” said Bernard Hopkins, Hall of Famer and Golden Boy Business Partner. “I would also like to commend Oscar De La Hoya, Golden Boy and myself for fighting behind the scenes to get justice for Franchon. Now let’s move forward and get the best fights she deserves!”

On Thursday, the WBC decided to suspend Alejandra “Tigre” Jiménez nine months for failing an anti-doping test after Jiménez had beaten Crews-Dezurn by split decision on January 11 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. On January 24, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency discover the synthetic steroid stanozolol in Jiménez’s system in a test conducted on January 10.

The result of the fight was overturned to a no-decision.

“The WBC made the right choice by reinstating Franchon Crews-Dezurn as its world champion,” said Eric Gomez, President of Golden Boy. “We are thrilled for her. She is a very exciting fighter and a stellar representative of the best that Golden Boy offers. We can’t wait to see ‘The Heavy-Hitting Diva’ back in the ring.”

After a five-month probe, the WBC released a statement on Thursday, stating: “As a result of the Award Agreement, the WBC stated that the result of Franchon-Crews v. Jiménez was a ‘no-contest’, thus restoring the recognition of Franchon Crews Dezurn as the WBC women’s super middleweight world champion. Ms. Jiménez’s agreement with the WBC is not an admission that she actually ingested a prohibited substance to improve her performance. Instead, in the Award Agreement, Ms. Jiménez does not dispute the WBC-CBP finding as revealed by the anti-doping test.”

The suspension ends on October 10, 2020, though it comes with the caveat of a one-year probation and that Jiménez undergo more random testing. If she tests positive, more sanctions will be inflicted.

Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been working for Ring Magazine/RingTV.com since October 1997 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on twitter @JSantoliquito.

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