There will be a new opponent for WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (38-0, 37 KOs) following the VADA drug test failure of original opponent Luis Ortiz (27-0-2 NCs, 23 KOs).
It was announced on Thursday that Wilder will rematch Bermane Stiverne (25-2-1, 21 KOs), who was actually Wilder’s mandatory challenger but had originally agreed to step aside in order to let Wilder-Ortiz happen. Stiverne was slated to fight Dominic Breazeale (18-1, 16 KOs) on the undercard, with the winner taking on the Wilder-Ortiz victor.
Ortiz recently tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide, a banned substance used to treat high blood pressure but can also be considered a masking agent for PED use.