Undisputed champion Alycia Baumgardner tests positive for banned steroids before July fight in Detroit

DETROIT – After successfully defending her undisputed junior-lightweight titles on July 15 against Christina Linardatou, Detroit native Alycia Baumgardner’s championship reign could be in jeopardy.

According to her promoter, Baumgardner tested positive for banned steroids Mesterolone three days before the Linardatou fight.

Read: Alycia Baumgardner gets sweet revenge in hometown rematch against Christina Linardatou

Athletes use Mesterolone to enhance testosterone, increase muscle density and decrease the side effects of steroids when taken together.

Baumgardner released a statement on Twitter Wednesday (Aug. 16) denying any wrongdoing.

“To be abundantly clear, I know that I never have, never would, and never will take this or any other drug,” said Baumgardner. “Not only would doing so be unethical, but it would also be completely contrary to how I’ve trained my entire career.”

Baumgardner mentioned that both her post-fight tests came back clean, making the result of the July 12 test “Essentially impossible.” She also intended to actively fight against the allegation that she knowingly took a banned substance, saying she has “No intention of sitting back in silence and letting this ‘play out.”

Baumgardner’s promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, briefly responded to the news that Baumgardner tested positive for a banned substance.

“At the moment, we are the promotional company that invested a lot of money into additional layers of testing,” said Hearn. “Unfortunately, there are going to be adverse findings that come up because of the level of testing that we’re introducing. I know that other promoters just aren’t investing at that kind of level in testing, so you probably won’t see as many from their fighters, but disappointing, and I can’t say too much.”

Baumgardner can exercise her right to test the “B sample,” which is a second urine sample collected during testing. She can also challenge the chain of custody.

It’s unclear what steps she will take next, but Baumgardner could be stripped of her undisputed titles due to the positive test.