LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Mexican middleweight Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, prepping for a May 5 title rematch with Gennady Golovkin, has tested positive for banned clenbuterol, his promoters blaming tainted meat.
A voluntary drug test showed Alvarez had traces of the anabolic agent in his system.
Golden Boy Promotions said in a statement on Monday that the level was “consistent with meat contamination that has impacted dozens of athletes in Mexico over the last years.”
Golden Boy said Daniel Eichner, director of the WADA accredited lab SMRTL that conducted the tests, wrote Monday that “These values are all within the range of what is expected from meat contamination.”
The promotion company headed by Mexican ring great Oscar de la Hoya said it had notified the Nevada State Athletic Commission and Golovkin’s promoter Tom Loeffler.
Further, Alvarez will immediately move his training camp from Mexico to the United States “and will submit to any number and variety of additional tests” deemed necessary, Golden Boy said.
Alvarez said the positive result “surprises and bothers me”.
“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,” he said.
© Agence France-Presse
