Baltimore Ravens’ safety-turned-boxer Tom Zbikowski’s suspension lifted – NFL News
Just one week after he was given a 45-day suspension for testing positive for marijuana, the Baltimore Ravens’ free agent safety Tom Zbikowski had his punishment lifted after passing a second drug test that was administered on Tuesday April 25.
After Zbikowski won his fourth fight on April 23, he was given a suspension for testing positive for marijuana in a drug test administered by the Chickasaw Nation Boxing Commission after the fight. The safety-turned-boxer was shocked to know that he had
tested positive and gave another drug test on Tuesday to show that he did not use any marijuana and that the drug test was faulty.
Zbikowski’s manager Mike Joyce told a local newspaper in Chicago, Illinois that his client would appeal the suspension because the test and results were invalid.
“After the fight, all the fighters tested were positive,” Joyce said. “They had you pee in a cup and put a strip of something in there. I've never seen results where you get them the day of the fight. It was like a home pregnancy test or something. He's
taken all sorts of tests for the NFL and he's never tested positive ... ever.”
But after the second drug test, which Zbikowski passed, the results were sent to the boxing commission and the suspension was lifted.
"We're grateful the Chickasaw Nation acted in such an expeditious manner," Joyce told a newspaper. "We knew Tommy has never used any illegal or banned substances."
Zbikowski made his professional boxing debut in a fight at New York City’s Madison Square Garden while he was still at the University of Notre Dame. In that fight on June 10, 2006 Zbikowski beat Akron, Ohio’s Robert Bell by a technical knockout (TKO) just
49 seconds into the first round of the fight, which met the guidelines of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
His next fight came against Richard Bryant at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 12, five years after his first fight. He defeated Richard Bryant by TKO just one minute 45 seconds into the first round of the scheduled four-round fight.
His third victory came against Caleb Grummet, which he won by unanimous decision at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on March 26. That was his first, and so far only, fight that went through all four rounds.
Zbikowski’s fourth win came just before the drug test that resulted in his suspension on April 23. He defeated Blake Warner by a knockout (KO) in the first round of the fight at the WinStar Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. Zbikowski’s next fight is scheduled
for June 4, in Los Angeles, California’s Staples Centre against Mike Howell.
Tags: