Mexican boxer Moises ‘Taz’ Calleros received a four-year drugs ban before anti-doping officials discovered he had passed away three months earlier.
Calleros, who died suddenly on March 1 at the age of 34, was suspected to have suffered a cardiac arrest. The UK Anti-Doping agency seemed unaware of his death when they announced his positive test for cocaine following his defeat to Britain’s Galal Yafai last year.
Calleros lost the bout at the O2 Arena in London on the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s victory over Jermaine Franklin in April 2023. Yafai, in only his fourth professional fight, secured a fourth-round TKO victory. Calleros subsequently tested positive for the Class-A substance.
UKAD’s initial statement on Monday read: “Mexican Professional Boxer Moises Calleros has been banned from all World Anti-Doping Code-compliant sport for four years, following Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) for the Presence and Use of a Prohibited Substance.
“Mr Calleros was tested by UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) on 1 April 2023 after his bout against Galal Yafai at the London O2 Arena. Analysis of his Sample revealed the presence of cocaine and its metabolite benzoylecgonine. Cocaine is prohibited In-Competition. It is also categorised as a ‘Substance of Abuse’ on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Prohibited List.
“UKAD notified and charged Mr Calleros with ADRVs for the Presence and Use of a Prohibited Substance and provisionally suspended him. The case was then later referred to the independent National Anti-Doping Panel (NADP) to determine whether the ADRVs were proved and, if so, the appropriate Consequences.
“The NADP concluded that Mr Calleros had committed both ADRVs and issued the boxer with a four-year ban from all World Anti-Doping Code-compliant sport. While shorter bans are available for athletes who can establish that cocaine use or ingestion took place Out-Of-Competition and in a context unrelated to sport, Mr Calleros did not put forward evidence to meet those requirements.
Replying to a social media post about the news, Yafai noted: “He passed away in March if you didn’t know already! RIP.”
After learning that ‘Taz’ had died, UKAD responded by saying: “UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) has today received information regarding the death of Mexican professional boxer Moises Calleros. UKAD received this information shortly after publishing details of the outcome from a case concerning Mr Calleros in accordance with the UK Anti-Doping Rules. Unfortunately, UKAD had no information regarding Mr Calleros’ sad passing at the time of publication and has now removed all details of this case from its channels.”
