by David P. Greisman

Luis Ortiz will remain under temporary suspension for allegedly tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone until a full hearing before the Nevada Athletic Commission, which will likely take place in November.

Ortiz is accused of coming up positive in testing done for his Sept. 11 win over Lateef Kayode in a bout for the World Boxing Association’s interim heavyweight title.

At the commission’s hearing on Monday morning, Ortiz’s attorney had sought for that temporary suspension to be removed because of the consequences it would have on the boxer.

“Even though it’s a temporary suspension, it has a significant effect on his ranking … and it has a significant effect on his ability to move ahead on any fight as far as negotiating,” the attorney said.

Temporary suspensions keep a boxer from being able to step into the ring until his case is argued on and then resolved in a full commission hearing.

The attorney indicated a couple of the items that may end up coming up in that full hearing.

“This man has a history of high estrogen,” he said at one point.

The attorney also mentioned World Anti-Doping Agency standards and the fact that Ortiz’s actual nandrolone levels weren’t listed on the lab report sent by Quest Diagnostics to the commission.

Ortiz’s “B” sample has not been tested yet.

Last week, after news of the drug test came out, Ortiz’s team sent a statement to BoxingScene that included a copy of a drug test for anabolic steroids conducted on Oct. 7 by a LabCorp location in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Ortiz’s team had gone to the company for an additional test after getting word of the positive drug test out of Nevada.

An excerpt from that statement: “We send to BoxingScene a copy of the Luis Ortiz analysis performed by LabCorp, for the public to see that Luis Ortiz does not need to use stimulants to win his fights.”

The Oct. 7 test doesn’t actually provide proof that a banned substance wasn’t in Ortiz’s system around Sept. 11.

BoxingScene’s Ryan Burton subsequently spoke with Ortiz manager Jay Jimenez and paraphrased him as such:

“Jimenez is fully aware that a test taken over 3 weeks after a fight won't prove his fighter's innocence but said that he and Ortiz want to show their willingness to do whatever it takes to prove he's not a cheater.”

Said Jimenez to Burton:

“Ryan, we didn't hear news of the positive test until October 5th or 6th. As soon as we found out, we scheduled an appointment at LabCorp for Luis to go in and test again at the earliest possible time. We want to clear his name.”

Ortiz denies taking any banned substances.

Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide. Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com