MOSCOW — Russian boxer Igor Mikhalkin has been stripped of the European Boxing Union’s light heavyweight title after testing positive for the banned substance meldonium.
EBU general secretary Enza Jacoponi tells The Associated Press that Mikhalkin tested positive during his win by unanimous decision against Patrick Bois in France last month.
Mikhalin is "deprived of the EBU title and suspended for two years starting from the date of his last title defence," Jacoponi says in an email.
Mikhalin, who fights out of Germany, won the EBU belt in 2014 and made three successful defences. He has an 18-1 record, including the win over Bois.
Since meldonium was banned for 2016, there have been more than 120 positive tests around the world, many in Russia. Mikhalkin is the first confirmed case in boxing.