The sport of boxing likes to pride itself on courage, discipline and purity of competition, but behind all the bright lights lies a dark reality.
For years, boxing has been haunted by controversy, deaths, corruption, bribery and even links to organised crime.
Another big problem for the sport has been the use of drugs – performance enhancing, as well as recreational.
A lot of these stories aren’t just minor footnotes in boxing history – they’re stories that changed fights, derailed legends, stripped champions of titles, and even ended careers.
From anabolic steroids to cocaine, tainted supplements to masking agents, there’s little that the sweet science has not seen.
Here, we take a closer look at the most shocking drug scandals that shook boxing to its core.
Ryan Garcia
Ryan Garcia is one of the biggest names in the sport, but his rise to boxing superstardom hit a serious road bump in 2024.
Controversy centered around his fight with Devin Haney, which Garcia originally won by majority decision after knocking his opponent down on three occasions.
The American tested positive for ostarine, which is a banned substance in the eyes of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Garcia’s win was overturned to a no-contest, with the New York State Athletic Commission handing the boxer a one-year suspension. On top of that, Garcia had to forfeit his $1.2million purse and pay an additional $10,000 fine.
The fighter has always maintained his innocence, claiming he never took any banned substances intentionally.
Canelo Alvarez
Canelo Alvarez is one of the greatest active fighters on the planet today. Nevertheless, even he was caught up in a substance storm of global media proportions.
His story took place ahead of his much-anticipated rematch with Gennady Golovkin in 2018. Alvarez tested positive for trace amounts of clenbuterol in two urine samples, which is a banned anabolic agent used for fat burning and muscle gain.
Canelo’s team and a WADA-accredited lab looked into the findings and concluded that the detected levels of the drug were consistent with contaminated meat consumption – a common issue in Mexico.
Canelo submitted a hair follicle test, which returned a negative finding – bolstering the meat-contamination reasoning.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission handed Canelo a six-month suspension, with the Mexican boxer returning to the ring in late 2018 – going on to beat Golovkin in their thrilling rematch.
James Toney
Former heavyweight James Toney was involved in two major substance scandals during his boxing career – one of which saw him lose his world championship belt.
The first incident took place in 2005 after nandrolone was detected in Toney’s system following his WBA world heavyweight title win over John Ruiz.
After the positive test, the result was overturned, and the title was handed back to Ruiz. Toney, meanwhile, was given a 90-day suspension from the New York State Athletic Commission and also faced a $10,000 fine.
The boxer claimed that the anabolic steroid came from a medication which was prescribed by his doctor to treat an arm injury.
Toney was back in the bad books a couple of years later after testing positive for stanozolol and boldenone after his win over Danny Batchelder – who, by the way, also tested positive for banned substances.
The American was initially given a one-year suspension and a $2,500 fine. However, Toney successfully appealed the decision and got his suspension down to just six months.
Conor Benn
Arguably one of the biggest drug scandals in modern times concerns Conor Benn.
The Brit was scheduled to fight Chris Eubank Jr in October 2022 – a blockbuster bout tied to their fathers’ epic rivalry. However, due to a couple of positive VADA drug tests, the fight was controversially cancelled at the last minute.
Benn tested positive for clomifene, which is a fertility drug for women that boosts testosterone levels.
The World Boxing Council made a review and concluded there was no conclusive evidence of intentional doping. They also argued that a high intake of eggs could have been responsible. Benn also denied intentional intake, maintaining his innocence throughout.
UK Anti-Doping charged and suspended Benn for alleged use of a banned substance, though the National Anti-Doping Panel lifted that suspension just a few months later.
To add further complication, UKAD and the British Boxing Board of Control appealed NADP’s decision, which led to the re-imposition of the suspension.
The battle raged on until late 2024, with NADP once again lifting the suspension. On this occasion, there was no fight back from UKAD or the BBBofC, allowing Benn to resume his boxing career in the UK.
In April 2025, Benn and Eubank eventually got their fight. The two men boxed at the sold out Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in one of the most memorable domestic bouts of all time, with Eubank picking up a unanimous decision win.
Ricardo Mayorga
Following a high-profile defeat to Oscar De La Hoya in 2006, Ricardo Mayorga tested positive for Lasix – also known as diuretic furosemide.
Considering the substance is used to mask other drug use, the Nevada State Athletic Commission saw this as a major violation.
Mayorga was fined $50,000 and faced an eight-month suspension. The boxer later commended: “That was the most expensive drug I ever took.”
Stefy Bull
In a case that stunned the boxing world, world champion trainer and manager Stefy Bull was convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine in early 2025.
According to investigators, Bull (real name Andrew Bulcroft) allegedly used an encrypted chat network to organise the purchase of cocaine. Negotiated bulk deals were said to carry a worth of around $50,000 per kilogram.
After a four-day trial, the Crown Court in Sheffield delivered a guilty verdict. His boxing license is also under review with the British Boxing Board of Control.
Jarrell Miller
Controversial heavyweight boxer Jarrell Miller has been involved in multiple drug scandals over the years.
During his early career as a kickboxer, Miller received a nine-month suspension after testing positive for Methylhexaneamine.
In more recent years, the American has tested positive for human growth hormone, erythropoietin and GW501516 – a metabolic modulator which has been banned by WADA.
Miller has missed out on big fights due to his substance issues, including a 2019 bout with then-world champion Anthony Joshua.
Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson is not only one of the biggest names in boxing, but in all of sports. The American is regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, but he has also endured a number of drug-related controversies.
Tyson does not hide the fact he was heavily addicted to cocaine during his career. In his autobiography, the boxer claims that drugs helped him cope with fame and pressure.
In order to get around drug tests, Tyson used a ‘whizzinator’. This is a fake penis that is filled with someone else’s urine.
Despite this, Tyson did famously fail a 2004 drug test following his fight with Danny Williams. The American was fined $200,000.
Pernell Whitaker
Regarded as one of the most effective defensive boxers of his era, Pernell Whitaker faced several drug-related controversies.
Back in 1997, Whitaker was caught with cocaine metabolites in his system following his victory over Andrey Pestryayev.
A year later, Whitaker had a scheduled fight with Ike Quartey, for which he agreed to conduct random drug tests. The American failed one of those tests, with cocaine once again being the culprit.
In June 2002, Whitaker was convicted on possession of cocaine. While he did avoid a jail sentence, the boxer was placed on probation and had to undergo treatment.
Tyson Fury
Tyson Fury is not only known for his accomplishments inside the ring, but he has also gained a lot of fans for his personal battle with drugs.
Following his history-making world heavyweight title victory over Wladimir Klitschko in 2016, Fury reached the pinnacle of the sport.
Having completed his major objective in boxing, Fury spiralled downwards, losing all motivation to train and turning to alcohol and drugs.
Fury tested positive for benzoylecgonine, the primary metabolite of cocaine, in two separate tests conducted in September 2016.
He admitted to heavy cocaine use and revealed that he had been struggling with his mental health.
He subsequently vacated his world titles and withdrew from the sport temporarily. Thankfully for the Brit, he managed to turn his life around in the years that followed.
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