October 2025 – Former junior middleweight champion Jaime Munguia has been fully exonerated after Global Sports Advocates, a leading international sports law firm, successfully proved that what appeared at first blush to be a failed drug test was actually a false positive resulting from ingestion of a non-banned substance.
Munguia appeared to test positive for metabolites of testosterone following his May 2025 victory over Bruno Surace in Saudi Arabia, a finding that threatened his reputation, career, and $3.9 million in fight earnings. Both his A- and B-samples flagged irregular results under the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA) program, prompting reviews by the World Boxing Council (WBC) and the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC).
Global Sports Advocates led the defense, coordinating with accredited laboratories, regulators, and independent experts to investigate the findings. Through extensive scientific analysis, GSA demonstrated that the positive result had actually been caused by a legal, non-banned substance called pregnenolone that Munguia unknowingly ingested by way of contaminated supplements on the day of the fight. The case exposed the limitations of isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) testing, which cannot always distinguish the use of non-prohibited substances from prohibited ones.
Based on the evidence procured, all investigating bodies concluded that no anti-doping rule violation had occurred. Munguia will face no sanctions, and his decisive victory over Surace remains intact.
“Anti-doping cases are often treated as open-and-shut matters,” said Ryan Lipes, anti-doping attorney at Global Sports Advocates. “This case shows the importance of careful scientific scrutiny and due process in protecting the rights of clean athletes. In Jaime’s case, not only was his reputation on the line, but also $3.9 million in fight earnings. We are proud to have secured a just outcome that fully vindicates him.”
Munguia expressed relief and gratitude for the outcome. “Without the team at Global Sports, we wouldn’t be having this great news,” Munguia said. “Since I wasn’t cheating, I was shocked to learn about the charge, but I knew I needed to handle it in the best way. Now, there are big things coming—big fights very soon.”
