Family ‘feeling it’ as former champion boxer Joseph Parker returns positive cocaine result

Former heavyweight world champion Lupesoliai La’auliolemalietoa Joseph Parker is under investigation after testing positive for cocaine, which could lead to a two-year ban from boxing.

His promoter, Queensberry Promotions, confirmed on X that the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) had informed all parties about Parker's “adverse finding following an anti-doping test” conducted on 25 October, the same day he lost to Britain’s Fabio Wardley. The Brit beat Parker in an 11th-round knockout victory.

“While the matter is investigated further, no additional comments will be made at this time,” the X post concluded.

Tuilagi William Leolahi, a 531pi sports show Pacific Huddle co-host and friend of 33–year–old Parker, says he is concerned about Parker's family.

“That’s the people who will mostly be affected by this. I know for sure that the family will be feeling a lot of what's come out. Definitely, Joseph doesn't want to be defined by something like this.”

Tuilagi says the New Zealand-born Sāmoan Parker is currently on holiday, but many people are reaching out to support him during the ongoing investigation.

531pi sports show Pacific Huddle co-host Tuilagi William Leolahi. Photo/Supplied.

Parker is of Sāmoan descent. Both of his parents migrated to New Zealand from Sāmoa in the early 1980s, and his mother hails from Faleula Village on Upolu. He also holds the honorary Sāmoan matai, chiefly title of Lupesoliai La'auli.

Sky Sports News reports that traces of cocaine were found during a routine VADA test. A source told Sky that the sample was taken on the day of Parker’s defeat at London’s O2 Arena, but the results “only became available on Friday".

The Times also confirmed the positive result, reporting that Parker “faces a two-year ban after testing positive for cocaine", and highlighted that the timing of the test suggested he had “come into contact with the drug during fight week".

The newspaper added that the substance detected was benzoylecgonine, a metabolite indicating recent use.

Spencer Brown, Parker’s manager in the United Kingdom, told Reuters that the team was shocked by the findings.

"We are just waiting to speak to Joe, (promoter) David Higgins and his promoter Frank Warren. It is very early days, and we will get to the bottom of it all,” Brown told Reuters.

The investigation into the positive test is ongoing.

Parker recorded a total of 40 fights, of which 36 he won - 24 by knockout - and four losses. He held the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) heavyweight title from 2016 to 2018.

At the regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the WBO Oriental, Africa, and Oceania titles, as well as the PABA, OPBF, and New Zealand titles.

As an amateur, he represented New Zealand at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in the super-heavyweight division and narrowly missed qualification for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Parker turned professional in July 2012 with Duco Events in Auckland, under the tutelage of Sir Bob Jones. After defeating Andy Ruiz for the vacant WBO title, Parker became the first heavyweight boxer from either New Zealand or the Pacific to win a major world championship