Joseph Parker 'Tested Positive for Cocaine' on Day of Fabio Wardley Fight
Joseph Parker is facing a lengthy ban after failing a drugs test for cocaine on the day of his fight against Fabio Wardley.
Parker suffered a controversial 11th round defeat to Wardley at London's O2 Arena in last month's heavyweight clash.
Referee Howard Foster was accused of stopping the fight prematurely as Wardley had Parker against the ropes.
A few weeks removed from their heavyweight bout, The Sun has reported that Parker tested positive for cocaine on the day of his fight against Wardley.
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The report claims cocaine was in his system after being tested by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA) on October 25.
The adverse analytical finding was revealed on Friday.
A source has also confirmed Parker's positive test to Sky Sports News.
His team has the opportunity to have the B-sample tested but in the vast majority of cases, the A and B sample results are identical.
Traces of cocaine typically remain in urine for around four days.
A source close to the camp said: "I am absolutely shocked.
"This has been the first camp where Joe has all of his family around.
"The camp had gone great and he put on a good performance in a great fight."
Queensberry Promotions released a brief statement on Friday morning confirming the positive test, which read: “The Voluntary Anti-Doping Association last night informed all required parties that Joseph Parker returned an adverse finding following an anti-doping test conducted on the 25th October in relation to his bout with Fabio Wardley.
"While the matter is investigated further, no additional comment will be made at this time."
Parker's defeat to Wardley snapped a six-fight winning streak, which included massive victories over Deontay Wilder, Zhilei Zhang and Martin Bakole.
He won the WBO interim world heavyweight title against Zhang before defending the strap against Bakoke then surrendered it to Wardley.
How long could Joseph Parker facing?
The Kiwi fighter could be facing a potentially lengthy suspension.
A precedent has already been set as Liam Cameroon was banned for four years after testing positive for cocaine in 2020.
And John Donnelly was hit with a two-year ban after testing positive for the same substance in 2013.
So, Parker could be out of action for around two to four years based on previous cocaine-related sanctions, with The Sun suggesting a two-year ban could be issued.
SPORTbible has reached out to Joseph Parker's team, Queensberry Promotions and VADA for comment.
Topics: Boxing, Joseph Parker
Nasir Jabbar