Blair Cobbs has issued a full retraction on previous claims suggesting Vergil Ortiz Jr. is using performance-enhancing drugs.

The outspoken welterweight complied with the terms of a cease-and-desist letter issued by Ortiz’s legal team over the weekend, which carried a deadline of close of business Monday before further legal action would be taken. Cobbs has repeatedly and openly accused Ortiz of using steroids, dating back to the unbeaten contender being pulled from a DAZN show last March 19 after being hospitalized and treated for rhabdomyolysis, a serious medical condition which occurs when damaged muscle tissue releases proteins into the bloodstream.

Such accusations resurfaced at the start of the new year, with Cobbs mixing in such suggestions while calling for a fight with Ortiz. The renewed claims were enough for legal action to be taken, from which has come an official response.

“Let me give you guys a big retraction statement on Vergil Ortiz being… doing performance enhancement drugs,” Cobbs said early Monday in a video statement posted on his verified Instagram account. “Initially I thought that he was possibly a user with this illness that very rarely ever happens to anyone that is in boxing. It’s a rare disease, but incredibly dangerous, called rhabdomyolysis. He got admitted into the hospital.

“Thank goodness he’s safe and healthy. But initially when he got into that hospital with that extremely rare case and rare disease, I thought he was on some steroids.”

Failure to comply within the instructed deadline would have triggered a lawsuit, where Ortiz and his legal team would seek damages in excess of $100,000 plus all incurred legal costs.  

Ortiz was initially due to face England’s Michael McKinson on the March 19 DAZN show from USC Galen Center in Los Angeles. Rumors swirled as to why the unbeaten welterweight from Grand Prairie, Texas was removed, with at least one reporter suggesting it was due to struggling to make weight. It was revealed at the start of fight week that Ortiz was admitted to the hospital after suffering from the rare condition.

“[F]or the last [two] weeks I didn't feel like myself,” Ortiz admitted at the time. “I just felt like my body was deteriorating and I didn't know why and it was frustrating. Being the fighter that I am, I tried toughing it out, but when it's your own body fighting against you there's little you can do.

“Luckily my dad was also able to tell I wasn't right and took me to the [d]octor. We ran some tests and the doctor concluded that I had Rhabdomyolysis.”

The social media doctors immediately chimed in with all of the knowledge and insight that Google had to offer. Common causes among athletes include failure to properly hydrate during extreme physical and muscle inflammation. There is also the suggestion that PED use/abuse can increase the risk of rhabdo, a route that Cobbs unfortunately chose to take in what was otherwise meant as trash talk hurled at his divisional rival.

None of the talk helped Cobbs’ own in-ring performance, as his makeshift main event that night versus Alexis Rocha (22-1, 14KOs) resulted in his first defeat when he was stopped inside of nine rounds. Cobbs has since rebounded with a ten-round, unanimous decision win over Maurice Hooker last August 6 in Fort Worth, Texas, on a DAZN show headlined by Ortiz who scored a ninth-round stoppage of McKinson in their rescheduled WBA title eliminator.

Ortiz now awaits a fight date versus WBA ‘Regular’ welterweight titlist Eimantas Stanionis, which will likely take place on April 29 in the greater Dallas area.

Meanwhile, Cobbs—a Philadelphia-born, Las Vegas-based boxer—is still fishing for a fight date and opponent, which has obviously left too much free time on his hands. His campaign to call out the top welterweights not fighting one another has been overshadowed by his nearly year-long insistence that Ortiz is dirty.

He is now done with such accusations, though would still love nothing more than to ultimately settle matters in the ring.

“Right now, I need you guys to understand that Vergil Ortiz Jr. is a clean fighter,” insisted Cobbs. “I retract all my statements. I wish nothing but the best but also I still call out Vergil Ortiz Jr. and many other top name fighters. Why? Because I believe I’m great. Woooo!”

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