Canelo Alvarez tests positive for banned drug

LOS ANGELES — Middleweight boxer Canelo Alvarez has tested positive for a banned drug, and his promoters blame contaminated meat.

A voluntary test showed Alvarez had traces of clenbuterol. A statement from Golden Boy Promotions said the amount was consistent with meat contamination that has impacted athletes in Mexico and China.

Daniel Eichner, director of the World Anti-Doping Agencyaccredited laboratory that conducted the test, wrote Monday: “These values are all within the range of what is expected from meat contamination.”

Alvarez is scheduled for a rematch with middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin on May 5 in Las Vegas, a highly anticipated fight after their draw last year.

Alvarez will move his training camp Belangel transformed from boys to men in the dying seconds of the game.

Plagued by fouls and seeing his team down by 54-48, Sotto practically took matters into his own hands by firing seven of his game-high 19 points in the last 4:18 of the game.

Absolutely a mountain taller than Mt. Everest, Sotto, 7-foot-1, also swatted away three shots, including one when NU was hotly staging a rally.

In hauling down 13 rebounds on Friday to make it another double-double performance in Ateneo’s title-clinching 63-58 victory, Sotto also amassed 19 blocks overall, eclipsing the total of 15 combined rejections recorded by his rivals in the series.

But in jubilation, Sotto also found a rock-solid ally in the always dependable Belangel, who completed a three-point play triggering a 6-0 Ateneo run on the tailend of Sotto’s own three-point play for a 58-58 count.

After a missed drive by Belangel before a phalanx of NU’s desperate defenders, Sotto grabbed from Mexico to the United States and submit to additional tests, Golden Boy said.

Clenbuterol, often used by asthmatics, has fat burning properties and athletes have been known to use it to help them drop body fat and weight q u i c k l y. Among those who have tested positive for it are baseball players Raul Mondesi and Guillermo Mota, champion cyclist Alberto Contador, and a number of participants in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Alvarez, 27, of Mexico, and Golovkin, from Kazakhstan, are among the best active boxers. Alvarez, whose given name is Saul, is 49-1-2 with 34 knockouts. He relinquished his previous belts before meeting Golovkin last September, when Alvarez won on one card 118-110, lost 115-13 on another and third judge had it 114-114. AP his 13th board for a quick putback and-one, giving Ateneo a 61-58 lead with 25.3 seconds left.

By now rattled amid the combined eruptions of Sotto and Belangel, NU’s sizzling shooters suddenly turned cold before Ateneo’s rejuvenated swarming defense.

With 9.8 seconds left, Belangel buried two, pressure-packed charities to all but hammer the final nails into NU’s coffin for the final 63-58 count.

Belangel, finishing with 16 points and 8 boards, rushed to the stands to embrace his mom, Mayet, tears flowing down her cheeks as SJ’s younger sister, Hannah, and dad, Sammy, watched with glee.

During the photo-op session, in Sotto’s arms was his youngest brother, who is only two years old but is also already eagerly expected to breach the 7-foot barrier when he grows up.

Reason? Kai’s dad, former PBA player Earvin Sotto, is 6-foot-8; his mom is 6-foot-2.

Indeed, in height is hope. Might a given.