By Miguel Rivera
The former WBC middleweight world champion, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., believes Saul "Canelo" Alvarez is using performance enhancing drugs to improve his body.
On Wednesday in Las Vegas, the Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Canelo for six months for coming up positive for banned substance clenbuterol in two separate tests taken back in February.
Chavez Jr. was dominated over twelve rounds in May 2017, when he fought Canelo at a catch-weight of 164.5-pounds.
But prior to their fight, Chavez Jr. did make allegations against Canelo and PED use.
Canelo claims that he inadvertently ingested contaminated meat and that caused his situation with the positive tests. Mexico has an ongoing problem with farmers using clenbuterol on their livestock.
The suspension forced the Mexican star to withdraw from scheduled rematch with middleweight king Gennady Golovkin.
Chavez Jr. does not believe Canelo's claim of eating tainted meat.
However, he also credits his rival with having a lot of ability and says that it's not PEDs that make Canelo a good fighter.
"I do not think meat is the problem, they can see from his body, his character, the way he reacts when someone says something to him. I think Canelo was very obvious in his behavior, his character, how he was so rude to the trainer of Golovkin, Abel Sanchez. People who know about steroids, know that Canelo is using something - but I do not think that is the reason why Canelo is a good fighter, he deserves all the credit in the world," Chavez Jr. said.
Chavez Jr. has been inactive since that loss. He plans to return in the coming months.
"My next fight.. I think I'm going to fight in June or July, I'm waiting for them to tell me and talk to confirm, but I'm already training. I gained a lot of weight, and I've been losing weight, I have not been presented with a fight. There were no good fights, but now it's time," Chavez Jr. said.
2023-10-20 20:43:53
2023-10-20 20:44:10
