Boxing: Nevada State suspends Alvarez after second positive test

[March 24, 2018]    (Reuters) - Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez was temporarily suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission following two positive tests for the banned fat-burning drug clenbuterol, the body's executive director Bob Bennett said in a statement on Friday.

Middleweight boxer Canelo Alvarez of Mexico attends a news conference at MGM Grand hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. September 13, 2017. REUTERS/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus

Alvarez will meet with the Nevada Commission on April 10 for a final decision on his case, less than a month before his scheduled rematch against multiple middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin in Las Vegas on May 5.

The pair battled to a controversial draw in September.

The 27-year-old Alvarez provided urine samples in February as a part of the agreement for his second tilt at dethroning the 35-year-old Kazakh fighter and has since blamed the positive tests on contaminated meat.

Clenbuterol is sometimes illicitly mixed into livestock feed to make meat leaner.

Alvarez has a 49-1-2 record, with his only loss coming against Floyd Mayweather in 2013, while Golovkin has won 37 of his 38 bouts with the only blemish on his record the draw against the Mexican.

(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by John O'Brien)

[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.