Recent world title challenger Eloy Perez tested positive for cocaine following his knockout loss to Adrien Broner on February 25th in St. Louis according to Dan Rafael of espn.com
“I’m obviously disappointed by this,” said Golden Boy Promotions Richard Schaefer. “There’s no excuse and nothing more you can say. It’s not good.”
The Monterey (Calif.) Herald reported Wednesday that Garcia Boxing, which had guided Perez into a mandatory position for a shot at Broner’s 130-pound title, had released Perez from his contract on Monday but did not give a reason.
“Due to pending matters, we are not at liberty to discuss his personal and professional conduct,” Kathy Garcia told the paper.
“It’s not good for the sport, but most important, it is not good for Eloy Perez,” Schaefer said. “You’re not talking about a performance-enhancing drug. You’re talking about cocaine. I feel bad for Eloy and his family. This is something he will have to deal with and need help with. We wish him the best.”
“We haven’t addressed yet if we are going to release him or not,” he said. “First and foremost, I just feel bad for Eloy and his family because this is a serious issue. I’m sure fight fans are concerned about this as well.”
“In response to your question regarding Eloy Perez, drug test results, like other information regarding licensees, are confidential,” public information officer David Owen told ESPN.com via email. “Therefore, the office of athletics has no public or open information in response to this inquiry.”
