The EBU have announced that Dennis McCann has been relieved of his European junior featherweight title.

McCann had been due to face Peter McGrail in a defense of his title in Riyadh, on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury on December 21.

However, McCann tested positive for adverse analytical findings, and the fight was called off. The Brit has not fought since.

At a board meeting in Sarajevo on June 6, it was decided by the EBU that they would give McCann until July 15 for confirmation that he could defend his title. That deadline came and went, and they have decided to move on.

However, McCann will remain as the official challenger. First, McGrail will face an as yet to be determined opponent to fill the vacancy.

EBU president, Peter Stucki, shared his comments on the on-going situation with The Ring.

"Doping problems are always difficult for everybody because there are many possibilities to appeal, it takes a lot of time and everybody has to wait," said Stucki. "The EBU-rules state that an EBU-champion will lose his title if he is unable to respect the time-limits in order to defend it for whatever reasons.

"This is the case here, and the EBU-General Secretary is actually busy trying to find the first rated contender who accepts to fight for our title. As soon as such contender has been found, it will immediately be announced."

In the July EBU ratings, the No. 1 ranked fighter is Shabaz Masoud, who shares the same promoter, Matchroom, as McGrail. The No. 2 is the EBU silver champion Geram Eloyan from Belgium and the No. 3 Alessio Lorruso of Italy.

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