Joseph Parker reportedly tested positive for cocaine on the day of his fight with Fabio Wardley.
The heavyweight, 33, was, according to The Sun, tested by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency on October 25, the day on which he was stopped in 11 rounds by England’s Wardley.
A source The Sun described as “close to Parker’s camp” reportedly said: “I am absolutely shocked
“This has been the first camp where Joe has all of his family around.
“The camp had gone great and he put on a good performance in a great fight.”
VADA’s findings will be taken to UK Ant-Doping and the British Boxing Board of Control, who oversee the sport in the UK.
Parker, of New Zealand, potentially faces a two-year ban, regardless of cocaine being classified as a recreational, not performance-enhancing, drug.
He was hurt by the 30-year-old Wardley in the second and 10th rounds of an entertaining-and-competitive contest, until the referee Howard Foster intervened to rescue him in the 11th.
The stoppage was considered by some observers to be controversial, but the Board revealed earlier this week that no plans exist to investigate it.
