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Boxing: WBC orders Nery-Yamanaka rematch following doping probe

Defending champion Shinsuke Yamanaka (top) of Japan celebrates after winning his World Boxing Council (WBC) bantamweight title boxing match against Alberto Guevara of Mexico in Tokyo November 10, 2013. Yamanaka won by a knock out in the ninth round. REUTERS/Yuya Shino

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Shinsuke Yamanaka will get a chance to reclaim the World Boxing Council bantamweight title from Luis Nery after the WBC ordered an immediate rematch between the fighters following a doping investigation concerning the Mexican. Nery (24-0) scored a fourth round technical knockout in the Aug. 15 bout in Tokyo but has since been under investigation after an out-of-competition sample tested positive for the banned substance Zilpaterol. Nery and his camp denied the boxer had taken any performance-enhancing drugs and did not request a B sample analysis, the WBC said. "...the WBC cannot make a determination with sufficient certainty as to whether Mr Nery's adverse finding was the result of intentional ingestion of a banned substance to improve performance," the governing body said in a statement. "The WBC hereby orders an immediate rematch between Mr Nery and Sinshuke Yamanaka..." it added, without changing the result of the original bout. Yamanaka's promoters had earlier said the 35-year-old would quit boxing if denied a chance to fight Nery again after losing his first professional fight to the Mexican in his 13th title defense. "I've been thinking that I don't want to end my career," Yamanaka (27-1-2) told Kyodo news. "I want to get back at him." (Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; Editing by John O'Brien)