Canelo Alvarez Announced He’s Signed On For Year-Round VADA Testing

One of the biggest hurdles for a potential rematch between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin is Alvarez signing up for year-round drug testing. The Mexican superstar has announced that he’s now in the VADA testing pool.

Alvarez made the announcement on his Twitter, which can be seen below. Alvarez will be tested by VADA, who were the organization that tested Alvarez when he was flagged twice for traces of clenbuterol back in February.

Alvarez was initially going to face Golovkin in a rematch from their September 2017 fight that ended in a draw. The rematch was set to take place on May 5 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, but after Alvarez tested positive in February, he withdrew from the fight in early April before the Nevada State Athletic Commission ruled that Alvarez would be suspended for six months retroactive to the date of the first positive test. Alvarez and Golden Boy Promotions were adamant that Alvarez’s positive test came as a result of contaminated meat. A recent hair test from a sample Alvarez provided showed no trace of clenbuterol.

As far as what the prospects of a rematch between Alvarez and Golovkin being signed are, Golden Boy Promotions President Eric Gomez recently told Boxing Scene before Alvarez’s VADA announcement that once a fight deal between both sides is reached, then Alvarez would sign for drug testing. Golden Boy Promotions has stated that the plan is for Alvarez to fight in September once his suspension is up.

“If we have a deal done, he’ll start when the contracts get signed,” Gomez said.

With Alvarez not being available to fight Golovkin, the unified middleweight champion settled for an HBO television fight against Vanes Martirosyan at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. Golovkin retained the WBA and WBC middleweight titles by knocking out Martirosyan in the second round.