Professional boxer Cameron banned for four years
Press Release
14th January 2020
Professional boxer Liam Cameron has been suspended for a period of four years following an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV).
Mr Cameron provided a urine Sample In-Competition, following a bout against Mr Nicky Jenman for the Commonwealth (British Empire) Middleweight Title, on 27 April 2018.
Analysis of Mr Cameron’s A Sample returned an Adverse Analytical Finding for benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine. Cocaine is a non-Specified substance that is prohibited In-Competition only.
Mr Cameron was charged with violating Anti-Doping Rule Article 2.1 - "Presence of a Prohibited Substance or its Metabolites or Markers in an Athlete’s Sample”.
Mr Cameron admitted the charge; however, he disputed sanction and so the matter was referred to the National Anti-Doping Panel (NADP) for arbitration. An NADP tribunal was convened and concluded that Mr Cameron could not prove that his ingestion of cocaine was not ‘intentional’ (as that term is defined in the Anti-Doping Rules), and therefore, a four-year period of Ineligibility was imposed.
Mr Cameron filed an appeal against the decision at first instance to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (the ‘CAS’). An appeal hearing was convened on 23 October 2019, following which the CAS dismissed Mr Cameron’s appeal, maintaining the fouryear period of Ineligibility imposed at first instance.
UK Anti Doping’s Chief Executive, Nicole Sapstead said: “There are significant and valid reasons why cocaine is named on WADA’s Prohibited List. Cocaine is banned InCompetition and athletes are solely responsible for what is in their system.
“Whilst often viewed as a recreational drug, it can have performance enhancing effects, and there are significant health risks associated with its use. In addition, its use during competition can pose a very real risk to other competitors, this is especially so in contact and combat sports.”
The period of Ineligibility commenced on 25 May 2018 and will end on 24 May 2022 inclusive.
