Canelo takes blame for failed tests, maintains that he is a clean fighter

Canelo Alvarez has taken the blame for his two failed drug tests, which lead to his highly anticipated rematch with Gennady Golovkin being postponed.

In the aftermath of twice testing positive for the banned substance clenbuterol, boxing fans have split into two opposing sides regarding Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez.

Many fans feel that Canelo was caught in the act, and is a lifelong cheat who finally got busted.

Others feel since only trace amounts of the drug were present, and with Canelo’s hair sample also caming back negative, that his tainted beef story is true.

No matter which side you fall on, almost everyone is in agreement that Canelo was at fault for failing the tests.

A fighter of his caliber, with his amount of money, should have taken more precautions in regards to what he was eating.

It appears Canelo is aware of this, and in an interview with ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, he shouldered all of the blame for the failed tests.

“I don’t want to get anyone else involved. This was my mistake for not reading up on the risks, not researching more, more on the subject, on what’s going on with the beef in Mexico” Alvarez said.

In addition to taking blame for the failed tests, Canelo has maintained his stance that he unintentionally consumed clenbuterol, and did not look to gain an edge over GGG. In the same interview with Shelburne, Canelo stated, “But I didn’t do anything intentionally. I didn’t do anything to try and enhance my performance.”

It is nice to see a fighter shoulder the blame for a mistake he made, and take measures to prevent such mistakes from happening in the future. In addition to signing up for VADA’s voluntary 24/7/365 testing, Canelo has entirely removed beef from his diet, even when he is not in Mexico.

It is a little odd that Canelo was unaware of the risks associated with eating beef in Mexico, given he was born and raised there, but his story checks out. Trace amounts of clenbuterol were found in his positive samples, and the amounts were consistent with someone who would have eaten contaminated beef.

Canelo also has provided receipts of when and where he ate in Mexico, and the dates of those receipts line up with the dates of the failed tests. In addition, the hair sample Canelo gave, which would test positive if clenbuterol was in his system as far as six months prior, came back negative.

I, for one, believe Canelo’s story of contaminated beef being the cause of his failed tests. There is enough evidence supporting him, and he had a good track prior to these tests.

However, it was very irresponsible of him to allow contaminated beef into his system, and he ended up putting one of the biggest fights in boxing at risk. As a world class athlete who grew up in Mexico, he should have known of the country’s widespread problems with beef contamination.

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All in all, it was refreshing to see him take blame for his actions, and will be interesting to see how he looks in the ring following the failed tests.

If he truly was taking PEDs to gain an edge, he will likely be a different fighter after getting popped. If he unintentionally consumed clenbuterol, then we can expect more of the same from Canelo.

Either way, Sept. 15 can’t come soon enough.