Drugs cost SA champ his title

East London - South African lightweight champion Viwe Mdletyeni is set to be stripped of his title, according to Boxing SA chairman Ngconde Balfour, after being found guilty of a doping offence.

Mdletyeni appeared before a SA Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) tribunal in November after testing positive for banned substances methylhexaneamine and furosemide in July last year. He was given a 15-month ban.

"This is a sad day for boxing as Mdletyeni has been banned until November this year," Balfour said on Monday.

"I have written a letter to our office advising them to write to inform the boxer's camp that he has been stripped of his title."

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) put methylhexaneamine on its prohibited list in 2010, where it was classed as a non-specified stimulant. However, it was reclassified as a specified stimulant in 2011.

Methylhexaneamine is increasingly being found in nutritional supplements, typically those designed to increase energy or aid weight loss.

Furosemide is on WADA's banned drugs list due to its alleged use as a masking agent for other drugs.