Nevada regulations point toward possible suspension that could cancel Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin rematch

After submitting two positive tests for the banned substance clenbuterol, Canelo Alvarez is in for an uphill battle in his bid to keep a May 5 rematch with Gennady Golovkin in Las Vegas, according to a review of Nevada Athletic Commission regulations.

A review of commission regulations revised on Sept. 9, 2016, finds that the standard suspension for a first-time offender found positive for a banned, performance-enhancing substance like clenbuterol is one year.

Drawing that conclusion “is not that complicated if you just go by the regulations,” said one expert in the field who studied Nevada’s codes, but is not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Alvarez tested positive for clenbuterol — which can assist athletes in building stamina and endurance — twice in February but contends he ingested the banned substance by eating Mexican beef.

The Nevada commission is scheduled to consider Alvarez’s explanation on April 10, although that meeting may be pushed back one week.

The speculation that the fight may be postponed has led some businesses tied to the event to take preemptive steps.

HBO has stopped promoting the fight. Alvarez’s promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, has retreated from publicity plans. And on Tuesday, MGM Resorts announced it is offering full refunds for Alvarez-Golovkin tickets at T-Mobile Arena.

The revenue that a rematch would generate triggered some speculation the Alvarez’s positive samples would be cast aside, in favor of the influx of cash connected to a Cinco de Mayo fight weekend in Las Vegas.

Alvarez’s case is expected to include expert testimony that the amount of clenbuterol in his system was low enough to have been produced by contaminated meat.

Even with that, Alvarez will need to take full responsibility for ingesting clenbuterol because regulations only permit the commission to reduce the one-year suspension to six months.

The regulations read: “If an unarmed combatant … in this state promptly admits to an anti-doping violation when the only reliable evidence of the anti-doping violation is his or her admission, the commission may reduce, by not more than 50 percent, the period of ineligibility.”

Some of the language in the regulations seem to allow for full forgiveness of Alvarez, but several individuals familiar with the case say that is not the lens in which they expect the commission to view this matter.

For instance, in Section 39, the regulations read, “the commission may, in its discretion and based on the full body of evidence presented to [it], reduce or eliminate a period of ineligibility … for an anti-doping violation committed by an unarmed combatant … if the commission finds one or more mitigating circumstances.”

Then, it defines the mitigating circumstances as existing “when the conditions, events or facts accompanying an anti-doping violation reduce or eliminate the culpability of the person … .”

“Mitigating circumstances include … [that] the anti-doping violation was the result of the use of a … product that contains a prohibited substance that was not disclosed on the product label or in information available from a reasonable search of the Internet.”

That final portion of the regulations could blunt Alvarez’s defense that clenbuterol wound up in his system by eating contaminated meat.

“You can’t apply this argument to tainted beef,” the regulations expert said. “All you have to do is Google ‘clenbuterol’ to see the stories of [boxers Erik] Morales and [Francisco] Vargas, of the soccer and NFL players, the cyclists, swimmers and bodybuilders who have tested positive for it after eating Mexican beef. None of that is going to hold water.”

Both Vargas and Morales, who were allowed to fight in California and New York, respectively, after striking deals with their opponents. Both boxers were promoted by Golden Boy, whose president, Eric Gomez, did not immediately return messages left for him Wednesday. A week ago, the company put out a statement that the level of clenbuterol in Alvarez’s samples was consistent with contamination from eating tainted Mexican beef.

Golovkin has said he would agree to fight Alvarez if the clenbuterol ingestion was proven to be accidental.

“We’re just waiting for them to tell us if we have a fight,” Golovkin promoter Tom Loeffler said.

But the regulations are written to demand that fighters take full responsibility for what goes in their system over the considerations of an opponent’s judgment.

Regulation 26 reads, “If a test of a sample or specimen of an unarmed combatant by a laboratory accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency identifies the presence of a prohibited substance in the sample, the unarmed combatant has committed an anti-doping violation and is subject to disciplinary action by the commission.

“It is the duty of each unarmed combatant to ensure that no prohibited substance enters his or her body … . To establish a violation of this section, it is not necessary to establish that the unarmed combatant intentionally, knowingly or negligently used a prohibited substance, or that the unarmed combatant is otherwise at fault for the use of a prohibited substance.”

Alvarez’s temporary suspension is expected to be extended at a Friday Nevada commission meeting until the April session, when a final verdict is expected to be rendered.

A six-month suspension would keep Alvarez sidelined until August, freeing him to fight again on Mexican Independence weekend this year.

lance.pugmire@latimes.com

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