by Rick Reeno

Earlier today at a hearing before the Nevada State Athletic Commission, former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., by a vote of 3-2, received a 9 month suspension for testing positive for marijuana in the aftermath of his twelve round decision loss to Sergio Martinez, which took place on September 15th at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Chavez was also hit with a hefty fine - 30% of his fight purse [$900,000 of $3,000,000].

The suspension runs from the date of the Martinez fight, meaning that it expires on June 15th of this year.

This offense marked the second time that Chavez tested positive for a banned substance in Nevada. In 2009, he tested positive for Furosemide, a diuretic, after his win over Troy Rowland. The official result was changed to a no-decision. Chavez was fined $10,000 and suspended for seven months. This incident played a big role in the final penalties for the marijuana use.

Martinez (50-2-2, 28KOs) dominated Chavez (46-1-1, 32KOs) for nearly eleven rounds, before Chavez badly hurt Martinez and scored a knockdown in the twelfth. Martinez survived to win a lopsided decision with scores of 118-109, 117-110 and 118-109.

There is talk of Chavez returning to action on a date in June or July, either against Matthew Macklin or Vanes Martirosyan. Provided he wins, a rematch with Martinez could take place in the fall.