Former heavyweight champ ⁠Parker cleared to fight again after doping ban

What the report says

Former heavyweight world champion Joseph Parker says he has been cleared to return to boxing after a provisional suspension linked to a failed voluntary drug test last October. Al Jazeera, citing Reuters, reported on 5 August 2026 that the 34-year-old New Zealander had denied using any banned substance and had faced the prospect of a two-year ban after the test taken on the day he lost to Britain’s Fabio Wardley in London on 25 October.

Parker said in a statement that his suspension had been lifted and that he expected to be back in the ring soon, while adding that he had been told not to comment further until the matter is finalized. Robert Smith, the general secretary of the British Boxing Board of Control, confirmed that the suspension was removed, but did not provide further details.

The report says British media had previously linked the test to traces of cocaine, though no outcome beyond the lifting of the suspension was given in the available material. Parker, who held the WBO heavyweight title from 2016 to 2018 before losing to Anthony Joshua, now has 36 wins and four defeats. The development matters because it removes an immediate barrier to one of boxing’s better-known former champions resuming his career, pending any remaining administrative steps.