Jerry Forrest has been benched by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

The fringe heavyweight contender was hit with a 4 ½ month suspension upon final ruling from the NSAC during its monthly agenda hearing Wednesday morning via remote location. The disciplinary action was taken regarding Forrest having produced findings of the banned substance cannabidiol during random drug testing for his July 9 decision defeat to Carlos Takam.

The results stemmed from a sample collected on July 3, though not detected until after the fight. Forrest’s suspension will be served retroactively dating back to the time of the infraction, and will run through November 23, 2020. The 32-year old heavyweight from Newport News, Virginia was also hit with a $9,900 fine along with $208.04 in attorneys, both of which must be paid in full along with Forrest submitting to mandatory random drug testing prior to eligibility for relicensing.

Ironically, Forrest’s follies came after originally scheduled opponent Jarrell Miller was bounced from their ESPN-televised main event after testing positive for banned substance GW501516—also known as cardarine and endurobol. The incident marked the fourth time in less than 16 months where the disgraced heavyweight produced a positive drug test, the more famous occurrences coming in his eventually canceled title challenge of then unbeaten and unified champ Anthony Joshua last June in New York City.

Miller remains under temporary suspension by the NSAC. His case was due to be heard for further disciplinary action on Wednesday, only for a filing technicality to delay the matter until the commission meets again in November.

Forrest was among three boxers to receive fines and suspensions on Wednesday for their past sins.

Junior lightweight prospect Joshafat Ortiz was hit the hardest among the trio. The spectacularly-bearded boxer from Reading, Pennsylvania also fought on that same July 9 show, scoring a hard-fought win over fellow unbeaten prospect Joshua Orta.

The win will now be changed to a No-Contest, as Ortiz (7-0, 4KOs; 1 NC) came up dirty for methylclostebol, an anabolic steroid. Additionally, Ortiz was issued a nine-month suspension through April 9, 2021, along with a fine of $877.50 plus $218.04 in legal fees.

Heavyweight trialhorse Juan Antonio Torres was also issued a nine-month suspension due to showing accelerated levels of testosterone surrounding a June 16 ESPN-televised loss to Hector Perez, having also taken place at The Bubble. Torres (5-3-1, 2KOs) was hit with a $525 fine plus $668.04 in attorney fees.

Ortiz and Torres—like Forrest—must pay the fines and fees in full, along with completing standard drug testing programs in order for their suspensions to be fully lifted.

All three boxers remained under temporary suspension following the NSAC’s monthly agenda hearing in September. A similar fate awaits Tony Luis, who has been placed under suspension since September 23.

The 32-year old junior welterweight from Ontario, Canada suffered a one-sided 10-round points loss to Arnold Barboza on the August 29 ESPN+ show from The Bubble. Adding insult to injury was the detection of anabolic steroid methylclostebol, which was discovered during post-fight drug testing. His case will be reviewed during the commission’s next monthly agenda hearing in November.   

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox