The World Boxing Council says it has suspended Russian boxer Aleksandr Povetkin indefinitely after he tested positive a second time for a banned performance-enhancing drug.
The council said late on March 2 that it also fined Povetkin $250,000 for doping that first came to light last year.
Povetkin, 37, tested positive for meldonium just prior to a May 21 bout against heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder in Moscow. The fight was canceled.
The council on August 17 decided not to ban the Russian, who said he had stopped using meldonium before it had been officially banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency on January 1, 2016.
But when Povetkin tested positive again in December, this time for ostarine, a banned anabolic steroid-like drug, the council decided to hit him with the indefinite ban and fine.
He will be allowed to appeal the ban in a year, the council said.
Povetkin was the gold-medal winner in the super-heavyweight class at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Doping suspensions, often for the use of meldonium, have hit dozens of Russian athletes since 2015.
