Former Champ Joseph Parker fails drug test on WBO championship fight
By Gabriel F. Cordero
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 15 Nov 2025
It has been reported that former world champion Joseph Parker, 33, tested positive for cocaine on the day of his WBO interim heavyweight title fight against Fabio Wardley after an adverse analytical finding. He has now been informed of the opportunity to have his B sample analyzed.
Traces of the cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine typically remain in urine for around four to six days, suggesting that Parker may have ingested the drug in the week leading up to the fight, which took place on October 25 at the O2 Arena in Greenwich.
If the tests are confirmed, Parker could face a two-year suspension, even though cocaine is a recreational drug and not a performance-enhancing substance (PED) in the world of sports, as his defense and training teams are expected to argue.
Parker has a history of doping violations, having failed a World Boxing Council (WBC) doping test in 2017.
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