A drug test given to Antonio Tarver prior to his fight against Lateef Kayode came back with positive results. The pre-fight drug test was administered by the California State Athletic Commission. Tarver tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid drostanolone. The original outcome of the fight was a draw, but now the result has been changed to a no-contest.
A surprised Antonio Tarver had this to say on his twitter account…
“I apologize for the embarrassment it caused. I have always been a proponent of a clean sport and an advocate for the most rigorous drug testing in boxing. The positive test results came as a complete surprise to me today. I will be examining every potential cause and ultimately, I am confident that my fans will see that I was not at anytime attempting to gain an unfair or illegal advantage in my performance.”
Showtime, who employs Antonio Tarver as a commentator had this to say about the situation…
“We were made aware of the California State Athletic Commission’s report regarding Antonio Tarver’s positive drug test following his last fight on June 2 this afternoon. Out of respect for the fighters competing on Saturday night, Antonio and the network have mutually agreed that he will not serve as color analyst for the June 23rd boxing telecast.”
Tarver who plans to appeal the result, had this to say…
“I’ll appeal and submit to the California Commission everything that I’ve consume(d) prior to June 2 that (could have) caused this honest mistake”.
Tarver is the third notable fighter this year to have positive results come back in a pre-fight drug test. Andre Berto and Lamont Peterson were the other two.
