Canelo Alvarez Temporarily Suspended By Nevada For Failed Drug Tests

The highly anticipated rematch between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin is in some incredibly hot water.

News arrived this evening (Fri., March 23, 2018) that Alvarez had been temporarily suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) for two drug test failures for banned substance clenbuterol. NSAC executive director Bob Bennett confirmed the news to MMA Fighting after an initial report by the LA Times.

Alvarez will appear before the commission on April 10 to face potential punishment, putting his highly anticipated May 5 rematch with Golovkin from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in serious jeopardy. In an odd scenario, Alvarez was not initially suspended when it was announced he had failed the first test for clenbuterol on March 5. The NSAC was investigating the case since then, however, and Bennett revealed that Alvarez had failed two tests on February 17 and February 20.

The Mexican superstar’s Golden Boy promoter said that the test was failed due to a trace amount that was, ‘consistent with meat contamination that has impacted dozens of athletes in Mexico over the last few years.’

It may sound far-fetched, but meat has consistently been tainted with clenbuterol in Mexico and China, to the point where the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has an official warning about it. Mexican UFC athletes Brandon Moreno and Augusto Montaño were cleared of possible USADA sanctions following positive tests for trace amounts of clenbuterol in their system that were aligned with the aforementioned meat contamination.

It is of note that the NSAC has suspended athletes for the substance in the past.

Alvarez has vehemently denied that he knowingly ingested any performance-enhancing drugs, even going as far as to offer to move his camp from his home of Mexico to the United States and take any tests required. Alvarez and Golovkin fought to an incredibly controversial draw in Las Vegas last year, pushing their rematch to the point of being one of the sweet science’s most anticipated match-ups.