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The ongoing saga leading into the now-signed fight between Daniel Jacobs and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. continues. When news broke that Chavez Jr. recently refused a VADA drug test, he was immediately suspended by the Nevada State Athletic commission, with Las Vegas being a proposed location for the bout.
NSAC would schedule a hearing for Chavez Jr. to explain himself, but in the meanwhile Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn tried to switch the play by simply moving the fight to another location — Phoenix, Arizona.
Well, that hasn’t sat too well with NSAC commissioner Bob Bennett, who has now threatened to revoke Hearn’s promoting license in the state, which would obviously be disastrous for his Stateside operations. Bennett writes:
“Based on Matchroom’s ongoing dealings with Chavez while he has been on suspension, it is apparent that Matchroom has violated Nevada law.
“Further, given that Chavez’s suspension is based on his refusal to submit to a drug test requested by the NSAC. Thus an anti-doping violation. It is apparent that the event scheduled to occur in Arizona on December 20, 2019, is in violation of the Ali Act. As such, Matchroom is promoting an event that potentially violates federal law.”
Bennett would continue by writing that he’s contacted Matchroom head of legal affairs to make them fully aware of this situation, and that there are grounds to bring disciplinary action against the promoter if they don’t take ‘corrective measures.’
“If Matchroom does not take the necessary action to come into compliance with Nevada law, our office will consider its options.”
Now obviously I don’t think there’s any way that Hearn ends up risking his promoters license in Nevada just to piggyback off the remaining name value of Chavez Jr. — especially since Chavez Jr. isn’t even signed to Matchroom. Ultimately, it seems, this will come down to whatever the commission determines to do with Chavez Jr. once his upcoming hearing takes place.
And if Chavez turns out to be a no-go in the end, Hearn has already made it very public that Gabriel Rosado is set to step-in as a replacement opponent for Jacobs. We’ll keep you posted as things progress...