Boxing: Joseph Parker confident he will fight again after failed dope test

New Zealand heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker says he’s “devastated” by his positive doping test and is confident the defence mounted by his team will clear him of any wrongdoing.

The former WBO world champion has given his first interview since he was found to have returned a positive result for a banned substance on October 25 – the day he lost his latest fight against Brit Fabio Wardley in London.

Parker told the boxingscene.com website he was helping authorities with their investigation into the routine test carried out by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (Vada) and believed his name would be cleared.

“I was devastated. You have to do all these voluntary drug tests in camp and then all of a sudden you get a bit of a surprise and shock that you fail on a fight day,” Parker said, when reflecting on the moment he found out about the positive test.

“You start questioning ‘why did I have that cup of tea? Or why did I do this? Or why did I do that?’

“There’s a lot of things you think about. I’ve never failed a drugs test before, so it was a surprise and shock.

“So, I’m just gonna go through the process of trying to get it cleared, and I want to be in the ring as soon as possible.”

Multiple media outlets reported cocaine was the substance in Parker’s “adverse finding” but the 33-year-old denied taking any recreational drug.

“In the past I’ve enjoyed myself. I wouldn’t say ‘recreational drugs’, but I went out and had a few beers and that,” he told boxingscene.com.

“That’s the old me, when I was [a] young fighter. Now, after every fight, all I do is go home to the wife and kids. My life is on track. I’m focused on living the best that I can live and doing the best that I can do.

“I did not take any prohibited substance, I did not use performance-enhancing drugs and do not support their use. I am co-operating fully with the process now under way, and I am confident the investigation will clear my name.”

Parker faces the possibility of a ban of up to two years if he fails to clear his name.

The Aucklander was speaking on Australia’s Gold Coast, where he was supporting good friend Jai Opetaia, the Australian who successfully defended his IBF cruiserweight title in a win over German Huseyin Cinkara.