Mexico's biggest superstar boxer suspended
Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez has been suspended for six months for failing two drug tests.
Last month, the two-division world champion tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol in samples he provided in February.
Alvarez — one of his country’s biggest sports heroes — admitted the substance was in his system but denied it was intentional. He said he accidentally ingested it when eating beef in Mexico.
“I am an athlete who respects the sport and this surprises me and bothers me because it had never happened to me,” Alvarez said in a statement March 5. “I will submit to all the tests that require me to clarify this embarrassing situation and I trust that at the end the truth will prevail.”
On Wednesday, the Nevada State Athletic Commission agreed to suspend him for six months — the lightest punishment Alvarez could have received under the commission’s rules.
Alvarez’s penalty was cut in half because he cooperated with the commission.
“As we have maintained all along, the trace amounts of clenbuterol found in Canelo’s system in February came from meat contamination, and we provided the Nevada State Athletic Commission with a great deal of evidence to support those facts,” his promoter, Golden Boy Boxing, said in a statement via CBS Sports.
NSAC has suspended Canelo Alvarez for six months for his positive tests of clenbuterol. Canelo admitted to it being in system, but maintains it was due to tainted beef. Here are a few pages of the settlement agreement. He’s eligible again on Aug. 17. pic.twitter.com/KkQg2ro5VX
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) April 18, 2018
The Mexican middleweight was training for his much-anticipated rematch with champion Gennady Golovkin when he tested positive.
That fight, scheduled for May 5 in Las Vegas, was canceled. Instead, GGG will take on Vanes Martirosyan that day at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.
If Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs) wins, as expected, the rematch with Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs) will be held in mid-September. Alvarez’s suspension ends Aug. 17.
“Canelo looks forward to returning to the ring in September for Mexican Independence Day weekend to represent Mexico and boxing in what will be the sport’s biggest event of the year,” Golden Boy’s statement said. “He is ready to continue his remarkable record of fighting at the highest level.”
Their first bout last September was a draw, although most observers thought GGG was the winner.
The Kazakhstani champ was very critical of Alvarez’s failed PED tests, calling him “shameful” and “stupid” last month.
“We are elite athletes, and I want to keep boxing on this elite level,” Golovkin told the Los Angeles Times. “There are laws and a commission and [anti-doping scrutiny], and we have to fulfill them. They have to take action in that case, either disqualify him or [deliver] penalties. But if it’s neglected, why do we need a commission? And why talk about tests?
“When you get to this level, people should be watching the skills you muster from yourself, not wonder which laboratory you have.”
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