Canelo Alvarez Tests Positive For Clenbuterol Due to Mexico Meat Contamination

Canelo Alvarez tested positive for a banned substance but cited a meat contamination for the test.

Canelo Alvarez has tested positive for trace levels of clenbuterol as part of his voluntarily drug testing ahead of his fight with Gennady Golovkin on May 5.

Goldon Boy Promotions cited meat contaminations in Mexico as the reason for the positive test. Clenbuterol can be used by athletes as a performance enhancer since it helps increase lean muscle mass and reduce body fat through anabolic properties.

“These values are all within the range of what is expected from meat contamination,” Daniel Eichner, director of SMRTL, the World Anti-Doping Agency that conducted the test announced in a letter.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission and Golovkin's promoter Tom Loeffler was notified of the positive test.

Alvarez will move his training camp from Mexico to the United States. 

"I am an athlete who respects the sport and this surprises me and bothers me because it has never happened to me," Alvarez said in a statement. "I will submit to all the tests that require me to clarify this embarrassing situation and I trust that at the end the truth will prevail."

The first fight took place on Sept. 16 and ended with Golovkin retaining his title due to a controversial split.