JOSEPH PARKER is facing YEARS out of boxing with a potential ban after testing positive for cocaine.
SunSport exclusively revealed how Parker, 33, failed a drugs test for cocaine on the day of his Fabio Wardley fight.
The New Zealand heavyweight and father of six was tested by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency on October 25, with the adverse analytical finding being revealed on Friday morning.
Team Parker has the opportunity to have the B-sample tested, though in the vast majority of cases the A and B sample results are identical.
Cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine traces usually remain in urine for around four days, meaning Parker must have contracted the drug in the crucial fight week build-up.
The VADA will now hand their findings over to UKAD and the British Boxing Board of Control who police and punish doping in tandem.
coke shock
Joseph Parker tested positive for cocaine on day of Fabio Wardley fight
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And Parker could face a two-year ban, even though cocaine is a recreational drug and not a performance enhancing drug or PED.
There is precedent for heavy bans following positive tests for cocaine.
Liam Cameron was given a four-year ban in 2019 for a positive test of benzoylecgonine, a metabolic acid of cocaine.
However, rules have changed since then, with Rugby League star Adam Rusling receiving a ban of just three months following a positive test for cocaine and MDMA in 2024.
Parker explained that for his whole camp he had his wife and children in Ireland and London with him.
And a source close to the camp told SunSport: “I am absolutely shocked.
“This has been the first camp where Joe has all of his family around.
“The camp had gone great and he put on a good performance in a great fight.”
SunSport attended the Thursday Greenwich press conference where Parker took to the stage with the Ipswich hero.
The media proceedings were cordial and Parker seemed settled.
However, Wardley stayed back to host dozens of individual interviews after Parker vanished without conducting any.
What is cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine?
Benzoylecgonine is the main inactive metabolite of cocaine.
Here’s a simple breakdown of what that means and why it’s significant:
- What is a “Metabolite”? When you ingest a drug like cocaine, your body (primarily your liver) breaks it down into other substances. These new substances are called metabolites.
- Benzoylecgonine’s Role: Benzoylecgonine is the specific substance that cocaine is converted into as it’s processed by the body.
- Why It’s Important (Drug Testing): This is the key point. The “high” from cocaine is short-lived because the active cocaine is cleared from the bloodstream very quickly (within a few hours).
- However, the benzoylecgonine metabolite stays in the body for much longer—it can be detected in urine for several days (or even longer in heavy users) after the cocaine was last used.
For this reason, standard drug tests (like urine, blood, or hair tests) almost never look for cocaine itself; they look for benzoylecgonine. Its presence is the definitive proof that a person has recently used cocaine.
SunSport understands Parker, who was heavyweight champion between 2016 and 2018, is currently on holiday after the gruelling 11-round clash.
Parker previously missed a World Boxing Council-imposed drug test because of a holiday in 2017.
His promoter at the time, Duco Events, confirmed he missed the test after his win over Romanian Razvan Cojanu in May due to the break.
Duco Events said: “Joseph extended his holiday following the Cojanu bout on May 6 and didn’t update the Vada system of his change of plans.
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“A couple of weeks ago, drug testers went to his residence in Las Vegas and he had said he was going to be in camp there, but he had changed his plans and was in Samoa at the time. There is no hiding it’s an oversight.”
SunSport has approached Parker’s team and Frank Warren for comment.
