Joseph Parker says the failed drug test ‘came as a real surprise’ (PA Wire)
Joseph Parker has denied taking a ‘prohibited substance’ after testing positive for cocaine on the day of his heavyweight fight with Britain’s Fabio Wardley.
The former World Champion suffered a dramatic 11th-round defeat to Wardley last month in a fight to determine who would get the next shot at undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Parker was ahead on the scorecards heading into the final rounds before being controversially stopped by the Ipswich fighter at the O2 Arena.
However, the Kiwi boxer’s immediate future in the sport has been thrown into doubt after The Sun reported that the 33-year-old has returned an adverse finding from a pre-fight anti-doping test.
Parker was tested by the Voluntary Anti Doping Agency (VADA) on October 25, with the A-sample testing positive for cocaine.
The heavyweight boxer and his team will have the opportunity to test the B-sample, although in the vast majority of cases, both samples return the same result.
In a statement on Instagram, Parker said: ‘I want to address today’s news.
‘Before my recent fight I took a voluntary test and have now been informed that it returned an adverse result. This came as a real surprise to me
metro.co.uk
