Parker plans to resume career after saying drugs ban has been 'lifted'
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- Joseph Parker announced on Wednesday that his provisional suspension is "lifted" and he'll return "soon," while denying ever taking any banned substances.
- Parker's routine Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency test on the day of his October defeat returned traces of cocaine, following an 11th-round stoppage loss to Fabio Wardley at The O2.
- Parker could have faced up to a two-year ban from boxing over the positive test.
- The British Boxing Board of Control declined to comment when contacted by Sky Sports News.
- Parker, 34, entered the Wardley fight in arguably the best form of his career, on the back of six straight wins including Deontay Wilder, Zhilei Zhang, and the WBO Interim strap.
- Parker put his WBO mandatory challenger position to undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk on the line by taking the Wardley bout — a gamble the article says backfired.
- Daniel Dubois fell ill days before a scheduled February bout with Parker, forcing its cancellation before Parker pivoted to Wardley.
Why it matters: Parker's reinstatement puts a former world champion back in the heavyweight mix, but the British Boxing Board of Control's refusal to comment means the basis for lifting the ban remains Parker's own characterization rather than a publicly confirmed regulatory decision. With his Usyk mandatory status already spent in the Wardley loss, Parker's route back to a title shot now runs outside the top-contention line he held coming in.
