Oscar Valdez tests positive for banned substance phentermine

By Albert Craine - 08/31/2021 - Comments

Oscar Valdez has tested dirty for the banned substance phentermine in his A-sample for a VADA administered test, putting his September 10th title defense against Robson Conceicao in jeopardy.

ESPN is reporting WBO super featherweight champion Valdez (29-0, 23 KOs) tested positive for the banned substance phentermine, a medication that is sometimes used as a weight-loss drug.

Valdez, 30, was supposed to be defending his WBC title against the unbeaten Conceicao (16-0, 8 KOs) in the main event on Top Rank’s card on September 10th on ESPN+ at the Casino Del Sol in Tucson, Arizona.

Pending the B-sample test, there’s a possibility the Valdez vs. Conceicao fight may need to be canceled.

If that happens, it’s unknown if Top Rank will attempt to salvage the card by moving the co-feature bout between Gabriel Flores Jr. and Luis Alberto Lopez into the main event.

Mike Coppinger of ESPN states the WBC will have a Zoom meeting on Wednesday with Valdez’s attorney Pat English, Arizona Commission, and the Top Rank brass to discuss the situation. From there, they’ll decide on which direction to take.

Oscar Valdez tests positive for banned substance phentermine

“I personally have given athletes phentermine. It is very powerful,” Victor Conte, the founder of BALCO, said to ESPN.

It gives you energy. It gives you endurance. It gives you stamina. It makes it easier to breathe. Your training time to exhaustion would be much longer.

“If you’re not being tested for stimulants, there is a loophole so large you can drive a Mack truck through it,” Conte said. “Which one of the 70 stimulants would you like to use?”

It’s unclear how Oscar Valdez would test positive for phentermine? Was there a mistake in the testing? That’s why they’re going to test the B-sample. Could Valdez have accidentally ingested something that contained the phentermine?

We know that Canelo Alvarez ate beef in Mexico that contained clenbuterol, a substance that he later tested positive for. Did Valdez eat something that contained the phentermine?

Valdez trains in the same gym as Canelo, but he doesn’t live in Mexico, so eating Mexican beef wouldn’t be an excuse.

Oscar Valdez’s attorney English said, “Mr. Valdez had no knowledge that he was taking Phentermine and that we believe at this point it comes from an herbal tea.”

It’ll be interesting to see if Valdez and English can produce the tea that contains the phentermine. If not, it will be potentially difficult for them to point to that as the root cause for the positive test.

Conte doesn’t buy the herbal tea excuse for Valdez, saying, “It’s not an herbal tea. The molecular structure of phentermine is not an herbal tea. This is designed to help you cut weight.

“It’s a prescription-only medication. Does he have a doctor’s prediction? Let’s see it,” said Conte about Valdez.

No words. This is not looking good for Valdez unless he can produce the herbal tea containing phentermine or a doctor’s prescription. If he’s got a prescription, that’ll take care of all his problems.