As BoxingScene.com previously reported, Mexican superstar Saul "Canelo" Alvarez tested positive for clenbuterol, which the boxer and his team have attributed to contaminated meat.
The out-of-competition drug test was handled by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA) and the sample was analyzed at the WADA-accredited SMRTL lab in Salt Lake City.
Daniel Eichner, director of the SMRTL Lab that analyzed the test, said Monday: “These values are all within the range of what is expected from meat contamination.”
Canelo is scheduled for a rematch with IBF, IBO, WBA, WBC middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin on May 5 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, a highly anticipated fight after their draw last year.
Canelo will move his training camp from Mexico to the United States and submit to additional tests, Golden Boy Promotions said.
Clenbuterol, often used by asthmatics, has fat burning properties and athletes have been known to use it to help them drop body fat and weight quickly.
Among those who have tested positive for it are baseball players Raul Mondesi and Guillermo Mota, champion cyclist Alberto Contador, and a number of participants in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Fans are obviously concerned as the rematch is the biggest fight of the year and both boxers have promised to close the show with a knockout.
According to Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) executive director Bob Bennett, an investigation will be launched into the failed drug test to determine whether or not the fight will still happen on the targeted date.
“We have received the adverse analytical finding from VADA regarding Mr. Alvarez,” Bennett told MMA Fighting. “As per our standard operational procedures, we are going forward with our investigation.”
“At this point in time, I really cant make a determination [on the status of the rematch]. The investigation hasn’t concluded — it’s obviously in its infancy stages.”
