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Canelo Alvarez tests positive for PEDs ahead of GGG rematch, blames tainted meat

By José Youngs

LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 28: Canelo Alvarez prepares to jump rope during a media workout at L.A. Live's Microsoft Square on August 28, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 28: Canelo Alvarez prepares to jump rope during a media workout at L.A. Live's Microsoft Square on August 28, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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Canelo Alvarez is blaming tainted meat for his positive drug test ahead of his rematch against Gennady Golovkin.

Mexican boxing superstar Canelo Alvarez has tested positive for the banned substance Clenbuterol ahead of his rematch against Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin on May 5.

However, according to reports, the boxer’s camp is blaming the consumption of contaminated meat in Mexico for their fighter’s positive test.

Daniel Eichner, Director of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited lab SMRTL, essentially confirmed their suspicions in a statement released to Boxing Scene, revealing the trace levels of the drug are indeed consistent with the meat contamination that has plagued combat sports for the last year.

That same report also indicated Canelo would be moving his camp from his home country of Mexico to the United States, where he would willingly participate in any test administered by WADA.

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“I am an athlete who respects the sport and this surprises me and bothers me because it had never happened to me,” Canelo said in a statement. “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.”

In terms of actual competition, Canelo (49-1-2) and Golovkin (37-1-0) fought to a split draw in their initial fight in September. While the majority of pundits and fans seemed to agree Golovkin had done enough to earn the the decision win, a particularly suspect scorecard from ringside judge Adalaide Byrd resulted in the highly controversial decision.

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Prior to this performance, Canelo cruised to decision wins over Julio Caesar Chavez Jr. and Miguel Cotto while crumpling Amir Khan with a sixth-round knockout. To date, his only professional loss has come to the recently retired Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Similarly, Golovkin was coming off the first decision win of his career before facing Canelo, where fans saw him retain his title WBA, WBC, IBF and IBO belts while adding Daniel Jacob’s WBA belt to his mantle.

The two pugilists are set to face off again on May 5 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for the unified WBA, WBC, IBF, IBO, Ring magazine and lineal middleweight titles.

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