{"id":847573,"date":"2026-08-06T00:22:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T00:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/847573\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T00:22:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T00:22:13","slug":"former-world-champion-joseph-parker-cleared-to-return-after-testing-positive-for-cocaine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/847573\/","title":{"rendered":"Former world champion Joseph Parker cleared to return after testing positive for cocaine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img alt=\"Joseph Parker looks on prior to a press conference\" fetchpriority=\"high\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2242777686-scaled-e1785944224205-1024x682.jpg\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"responsive\" class=\"image-next-root\" style=\"border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;border:none;margin:auto;display:block;width:0;height:0;min-width:100%;max-width:100%;min-height:100%;max-height:100%;object-fit:cover\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Article_ImageCaptionCredit__wtmKL article-image-caption-credit inherit Typography_base__T6j8f\">Parker returned an adverse finding to an anti-doping test in October Richard Pelham\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>Aug. 5, 2026 Updated 12:04 pm EDT<\/p>\n<p>Former world heavyweight champion Joseph Parker has had his provisional suspension for testing positive for cocaine lifted.<\/p>\n<p>The New Zealander is cleared to compete again unless UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) re-open the investigation.<\/p>\n<p>Parker, 34, provided a sample to the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (Vada) on October 25 \u2014 the same day he lost to British fighter Fabio Wardley by 11th-round stoppage \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/6807008\/2025\/11\/14\/joseph-parker-boxing-ban\/?eafs_enabled=false\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">which had an adverse analytical finding for the recreational drug<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Parker insisted the result \u201ccame as a real surprise\u201d to him and said he was \u201cconfident the investigation will clear my name\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Because the substance is banned \u201cin competition\u201d by the World Anti-Doping Agency and the bout took place in London under the jurisdiction of the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC), it meant UKAD would investigate the matter despite not being the body which the failed test was given to.<\/p>\n<p>Parker was placed under a provisional suspension pending the investigation but he has confirmed that has now been lifted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m pleased to confirm my provisional suspension is lifted and I\u2019ll be back in the ring soon,\u201d Parker said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been advised to say no more for now while details are finalised. Thank you to all my supporters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The BBBoC confirmed to The Athletic that Parker\u2019s provisional suspension has been lifted but added it \u201ccannot make any further comment at this stage\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The Athletic also contacted UKAD but they have yet to respond.<\/p>\n<p>Parker is a former WBO champion and has four defeats and 36 wins in his 40 professional fights.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iNiIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxMCIgdmlld0JveD0iMCAwIDI0IDI0IiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPgo8cGF0aCBkPSJNMjQgMS45NTU1OUwxMC41MjQ3IDIxTDAgMTMuMjczTDEuOTYwMzEgMTAuNTUyTDkuNzY2NDggMTYuMjgzMUwyMS4yODc5IDBMMjQgMS45NTU1OVoiIGZpbGw9IiMwMDAwMDAiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc+Cg==\" style=\"width:6px\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"PuzzleEntryPoint_PuzzlesIcon__Po_hP\" 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alt=\"Connections: Sports Edition Logo\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"PuzzleEntryPoint_PuzzlesIcon__Po_hP\" src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAASAAAAEgCAMAAAAjXV6yAAAA0lBMVEUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/v7+\/f39\/Pz8+\/v7+gw1qWt1WWt1SgoKCfn5+Mq0+Mqk+QkJCCn0qCn0mCnkqCnkl4kkSAgIBwcHBkejlkejhabjNabjJgYGBQYi1QYS1QUFBGVidGVShGVSc8SiI8SSJAQEAyPR0yPRwwMDAoMRceJRIeJREeJBEgICAUGQwUGQsUGAsQEBAKDQYKDAYKDAVRd1CXAAAAFXRSTlP\/ABAgMEBQYG9wgI+Qn6CvsL\/P3+959xIgAAAEn0lEQVR42u3c4VYaVxSG4e8wDlRlsHBGTUYb0qaJialoWtE6tRBR7v+WupbaOHuGwYRl4oLzvlcAz9r7\/NsjN6eotZn0fKrVzXe3NpqRm5NcTY048QoknzS\/FSjeTBVUaRJ\/A1DcVYD1WjOB4HnIN78CKOoq4JLoMaCfUgWdb80FaiQKvs1GPVDUw0fyUR1Q5NGxQhZoLcXmLr9WAGJ+ZpRGD0D41G2ZBWrgY+o1SkCbqun6cvhDymU6OVokmcbDx\/o7v1ZNiQVqaWb5x9fZD+pQppfbiyTTMPuK3n7INbP1e6D6B+j6eC8zrQ6QrX88nvlQF4ASVTM8KwhkiVSt+wDUVKV\/3mTZigNZorEqxV+AvMr9uZcFAGT6a\/YIaeYLfZxlwQFlxyoX3wP1qj4hAlWFundAcWW\/sjCBqlsW3wIlso2zUIH2L2Vr3wKlsvWDBcreypY2nFyz8gCFC5QNKjum8oaN+yED7d\/IlDg5Xx6gcIGqI+SdItn6YQPtyxapKVOehQ2U5TK1tCHTh9CBPsrU1pZMv4cO1JcpUVfFbrLQgbIbFevJq1gO0KWKednOATpVsVS2IUAWSAABBBBAAAEEEEAAAQQQQAABBBBAAAEEEEAAAQQQQAABBBBAAAEEEEAAAQRQMEBX+XN1JdPF2SI9xZ+ZchNPREREREREy9X156VOpslokSaa1zBb6mQ62l6kI4AAAggggAACCCCAAAIIIIAAAggggAACCCCAAAIIIIAAAggggAACCCCAAAIIIIAAAggggAACCCCAAAIIIIAAAggggAACCCCAAPquQOfvljqZTl4u0hm370REREREREQrVX64SLmKTV4t0pFMg8PnKpft6b+TP9pepFcyvcueq1OAAAIIIIAAAggggAACCCCAAAIIIIAAAggggAACCCCAAAIIIIAAAggggAACCCCAAAIIIIAAAggggAACCCCAAAIIIIAAAggggAD6rkDTz4s0lRVapEn5hzxXU27fiYiIiIiIaLmanC3SSKZ8qRvL9vTfyb\/KlrpTgAACCCCAAAIIIIAAAggggAACCCCAAAIIIIAAAggggAACCCCAAAIIIIAAAigYoBQg27lsXsUuAMpLPD0VmwB0o2JddWTaDR3oN5l+VlumX0MHOpRpQy2ZzkIHymVqKpJtJ2ygvmyRnJfpIGyggUzeyXVkmuyEDNS\/kilxcrFsByEDDWRrOrlGKtuLcIH6sqXOybm2bBc7wQJdyZbcAsUq9T5UoE8qFd8Cua5KHYQJNFCpnrsDilURChCo6qPWPVB1hPQ+OKC9Tyrn3f9AsSqNdsMCevOvKjW\/ALmuqh3shgO0N1C1xD0ARamqjQzRigFZnqmq+agA5NY1s7NfXqw60Os\/cs2s5YpArlN\/B31y9FgjFbsZLk+XU9XUdhao0eMmvphvlIBc5FExD1AZyEUpLsanDOTWmKH70jVngNiyyvwUgRAq1YtcHZBrtPHpNJwFsrW8gi5ddza5UlFHAdeNXAWoUtMHyxM7VwNka\/XgMUDV4k6qoErbhscA1dTseAWST+KGq0luTlFzY6u7ykyp7yXtVjTP4D\/6awC5wZMmhQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==\" alt=\"Connections: Sports Edition Logo\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Aug 6, 2026<\/p>\n<p>Connections: Sports Edition<\/p>\n<p class=\"PuzzleEntryPoint_PuzzlesMobileSubtitle__BhT5j\">Spot the pattern. Connect the terms<\/p>\n<p class=\"PuzzleEntryPoint_PuzzlesDesktopSubtitle__cgpmH\">Find the hidden link between sports terms<\/p>\n<p class=\"PuzzleEntryPoint_PuzzlesButtonText__PsrSe\">Play today&#8217;s puzzle<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Parker returned an adverse finding to an anti-doping test in October Richard Pelham\/Getty Images Aug. 5, 2026 Updated&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":847574,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[703,49,48,82],"class_list":["post-847573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=847573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/847574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=847573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=847573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=847573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}