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Lucas Browne maintains innocence, claims proof he passed drug test

Fighters Network
30
Mar

Lucas-Browne

Lucas Browne is going all-in regarding his claims he was clean when he arrived in Russia for his bout with Ruslan Chagaev for a secondary heavyweight title, insisting he may have eaten tainted food that resulted in a positive post-fight drug test for the weight-loss drug Clenbuterol.

Browne (24-0, 21 knockouts) rallied to stop Chagaev in the 10th round on March 5 in Grozny, Russia to become the first Australian to win a heavyweight title, even if it’s the WBA’s less significant “Regular” championship. That result will likely be changed to a no-decision, however, if Browne can’t prove his innocence.

On Wednesday, Browne said he had a letter from the Las Vegas-based Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA), which administered random testing for the fight, showing he passed a drug test on Feb. 29 after he had arrived in Russia. “I now hold clear and unequivocal evidence that this test was a negative test and shows clearly that I arrived in Chechnya a clean athlete,” he said at a news conference in Perth, Australia.



Browne, 36, believes he may have eaten something in Russia that led to the positive post-fight drug test. His ‘A’ sample tested positive, and he expects his ‘B’ sample to have similar results. “It’s just speculation but I’d have to say something in the food,” he said at the news conference.

Browne said he intends to launch a full investigation together with his promoter, Hatton Promotions, to determine what happened. “I maintain that I did not knowingly consume any banned substance, including Clenbuterol found in my system in that time,” he said in a statement on Tuesday. “I will continue to do all that I can to clear my name.”

Browne claims he ate only at the hotel he was staying at in Russia and at a meal after the weigh-in following the clean drug test on Feb. 29. “The water I drank on the night of the fight was sealed bottled water,” he said in a statement. “I wish to make it clear that I have at this stage no reasons to take issue with the VADA testing of me in and around this fight. Given the result of the A sample, I have no reason to believe that the B sample will provide any different results to the A sample.”

Browne also said the drug test on Feb. 29 was for blood and urine while the post-fight was just for urine. VADA released a statement to RingTV.com on Wednesday detailing the agency’s responsibilities while declining to answer any specific questions about the case.

“VADA’s role is to carry out collections to the highest standard using certified doping collection officers and WADA-accredited laboratories,” the email read. “Results are released to the fighters, their representatives, the commissions, the ABC, Fightfax, the promoters, and often the sanctioning bodies.”

 

Mitch Abramson is a former reporter for the New York Daily News. He can be reached on Twitter at: @Mabramson13.

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