Canelo Alvarez Receives Suspension For Positive Drug Tests

Canelo Alvarez has been dealt his punishment for two failed drug tests for clenbuterol.

After his anticipated rematch with rival Gennady Golovkin was called off earlier this month, Alvarez received a six-month suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) at a hearing today.

Alvarez first tested positive for clenbuterol on February 17, and his six-month suspension is retroactive to that date, meaning he can fight again on August 17 at the earliest. The suspension was handed down as part of an adjudication agreement between executive director Bob Bennett, Alvarez and Alvarez’s team of lawyers according to MMA Fighting.

Alvarez’ team had previously claimed contaminated meat, which has been proven to be a source of trace amounts of clenbuterol in fighters in his native Mexico, was the source of his failed tests, but the commission deemed it a performance-enhancing drug failure nonetheless.

The low levels for which he tested for were consistent with prior contamination, Daniel Eichner, the director of SMRTL lab, which analyzed the samples, backed up that claim.

Now that Alvarez is suspended, Golovkin will now face Vanes Martirosyan on May 5 from the StubHub Center in Carson, California.