Canelo Alvarez temporarily suspended by Nevada commission

Canelo Alvarez has been temporarily suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission as a result of submitting two positive tests for the banned substance Clenbuterol last month.

An April 10 commission meeting will decide if his May 5 rematch with middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin will proceed.

Commission Executive Director Bob Bennett informed the Los Angeles Times of the decision Friday afternoon following a meeting with promoters for both fighters.

“Mr. Alvarez is temporarily suspended for his adverse analytical finding, and an April 10 meeting with the Nevada Athletic Commission will fully address this adverse analytical finding,” Bennett said.

While Alvarez’s promoter said the fighter provided the commission sworn testimony under oath earlier this month about why Clenbuterol was found in his system on Feb. 17 and again Feb. 20 as he opened training camp in Mexico, the commission consulted with anti-doping experts and decided to discuss further.

“We respect the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s process and will vigorously present Canelo’s case throughout,” Golden Boy Promotions said in a statement. “Over his career, Canelo has tested clean more than 90 times and would never intentionally take a banned substance.”

Golovkin promoter Tom Loeffler said the suspension is mandated by Nevada regulations until a full hearing has occurred, and the earliest the commission could arrange one is April 10.

“They told us Canelo has complied with follow-up testing and everything they’ve asked of him, but under their rules, they had to issue a suspension,” Loeffler said.

Alvarez is permitted to continue training, and Loeffler said Golovkin “is still training like he’s going to fight on May 5, and hopefully, it’s against Canelo.”

Loeffler said he and Golovkin were heartened by the fact that the Nevada commission is addressing the matter with public transparency.

“We always said this is under the supervision of Nevada and this shows they are doing a thorough investigation, and we commend them for that,” Loeffler said.

Loeffler, after he informed Golovkin of the decision, said “He’s going to train even harder for a knockout.”

Scrapping the bout would be a major financial hit, considering the first Golovkin-Alvarez meeting, a draw in September, generated 1.3 million pay-per-view buys and the third-largest live gate in Nevada history.

Golovkin has been highly critical of Nevada’s oversight and what he perceives as leniency toward Alvarez, who was given a stunning 118-110 scorecard (10 rounds to two) in his favor in the first bout although most saw it as either a narrow Golovkin victory or a draw.

Clenbuterol is used by farmers to fatten up cattle, and his camp said the levels found in Alvarez’s samples are consistent with what would result from eating tainted beef. Two other Mexican fighters and several soccer players submitted positive tests for the drug in the past, and the NFL issued a warning to its players in 2016 to avoid eating Mexican meat.

But Clenbuterol also builds stamina and endurance in humans, and since the positive came at a time when Alvarez was seeking to do just that, it’s particularly alarming to Golovkin.

“Check him on a lie detector and then we can find out everything,” Golovkin told reporters this week at his Big Bear training camp. “ … Then there won’t be any silly questions about meat, fruit, chocolate. … This guy, he knows.”