Parker, Canizales Fail Postfight Drug Tests

Edward (Pee Wee) Parker and Gaby Canizales, who appeared in two recent boxing main events at the Forum, flunked their postfight drug tests, the California Athletic Commission said Tuesday.

Parker, of Houston, who won a 12-round decision over Refugio Rojas Feb. 26, tested positive for cocaine.

Canizales, of San Antonio, lost a decision to Raul Perez of Tijuana for Perez’s World Boxing Council bantamweight championship Jan. 22. He tested positive for two banned cold medications, according to Don Muse, the commission’s assistant executive officer.

One of the substances that Canizales tested positive for was propoxyphene (Darvon), a cold medication that is also considered a performance-enhancing drug by the commission and is on its banned list.

The licenses of both Parker and Canizales were suspended indefinitely, Muse said.

The drug-related suspensions were the second and third in Southern California in recent months. In November, heavyweight Tony Tubbs tested positive for cocaine after winning a decision over Orlin Norris in Santa Monica. He was also suspended and is undergoing treatment at a drug-abuse clinic.

Both Parker and Canizales yielded two urine samples each after their bouts, and both the first samples and the backups tested positive, Muse said.

Canizales, a nationally prominent fighter managed by Emanuel Steward, who also managed middleweight Tommy Hearns, briefly held the World Boxing Assn. bantamweight title in 1986, after knocking out Richie Sandoval of Pomona in Las Vegas. He lost his championship in his next fight, however, to Bernardo Pinango.

When Canizales fought Perez at the Forum, he was trying to create the first brother act to simultaneously hold world titles in the same weight class. His brother, Orlando Canizales, is the International Boxing Federation bantamweight champion.

Gaby Canizales, 29, was 45-6 going into the Perez fight.

Parker, 24, although not the headliner Gaby Canizales is, was gaining rapidly in stature as a featherweight and super-featherweight. He was 20-3-2 going into the Rojas fight, which was his sixth Forum fight.

Last year, he earned $100,000 for winning the Forum’s super-featherweight tournament.

Gene Field, Parker’s manager, said his fighter broke down when informed Monday morning of the test results.

“He understands that he’s got to go into rehab before he can fight again in California,” Field said. “He also understands that California (the Forum) is our bread and butter because he’s developed a following there.”

Both fighters or their representatives will be required to appear at the commission meeting April 20 in San Francisco, Muse said.