Keyshawn Davis has faced significant repercussions following a positive drug test that revealed the use of cannabis or marijuana, according to a recent interview that his promoter Bob Arum held with Fight Hub TV. While this substance is not known to enhance athletes’ performance in any way, it is still considered illegal in boxing, resulting in the 24-year-old lightweight being suspended by the Texas Combative Sports Program.
The bout between American lightweight contenders Keyshawn Davis (9-0, 6 KO’s) and Nahir Albright (16-2, 7 KO’s) has now been overturned and declared a no-contest. As a result, their match no longer appears in the records of both fighters. Davis’s victory and Albright’s loss have been expunged, and their records have been reset to what they were before the fighters faced each other earlier this month on October 14th. The previous result had been a majority decision victory in favor of Davis.
Davis’s suspension will last approximately ninety days or three months, preventing him from participating in any professional fights during this time. Though it has not been officially announced what he tested positive for, Bob Arum, Davis’s promoter and CEO of Top Rank, criticized the suspension and the nullification of his last match, and revealed that the use of cannabis by Davis had resulted in the suspension.
Arum cited questioned the decision to suspend Keyshawn Davis and overturn his last result, mentioning that the use of the substance a month by Davis was to address sleep deprivation issues, also arguing that cannabis was not a performance-enhancing drug to warrant such a severe sentence.
“I’m sorry that it happened, that he tested positive,” Arum said in an interview with Fight Hub TV.
“But I’m not going to condemn a kid for smoking a joint a month before the fight to go to sleep. What the heck is happening?
“Let’s be real about it. Let’s not be hypocrites. Performance-enhancing drugs, that’s cheating, that’s wrong. Smoking a joint a month before a fight, take a poll here; what kind of percentage will you get of people that smoked a joint in the last month? So let’s be real.“
The suspension imposed by the Texas Combative Sports Program also means that the anticipated fight between Keyshawn Davis and Jose Pedraza (29-5-1, 14 KO’s) will not take place, at least not in the next three months. There were rumors this week that the fight might occur on December 9th.
Cannabinoids, the substance found in Davis’s system, are prohibited under WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) regulations. It is treated as seriously as any other performance-enhancing drugs, despite its lack of significant impact on athletes’ performance.
The reason for banning cannabinoids as a substance is not due to its performance-enhancing effects but rather because it falls under two of the three criteria that WADA considers when determining if a substance should be considered illegal in sports. These criteria include the health risks associated with cannabis use and the belief that its use can violate the ‘spirit of the sport.’
In Texas, the use of cannabis is still considered illegal. Ironically, if the fight had taken place in a U.S. state where it was legal, there would likely have been no or much less severe punishment for its use by Davis a month prior to his professional boxing match against Albright.
