Australian boxing world title holder and accused drug cheat Lucas "Big Daddy" Browne says his team has proof of his innocence but admits there's little chance he'll get to keep his belt.
The heavyweight's team has provided a Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) test to media, showing he returned a negative blood and urine test for performance enhancing drugs in Chechnya six days before he returned a positive test for banned clenbuterol.
That was proof he arrived in Chechnya a clean athlete and that something happened in the next six days - either sinister or accidental - to cause him to have the metabolism boosting, fat burning drug in his system, he told reporters.
Browne was tested after defeating Ruslan Chagaev in a WBA bout to become the first Australian to win a world heavyweight title.
"I maintain that I did not knowingly consume any banned substance including the clenbuterol found in my system at the time," he said.
"I rocked up to the country clean with every intention of doing every drug test ... there's no point me being on anything."
Browne's team is arguing he either accidentally ingested the drug through food in Chechnya or through sinister means.
The boxer says his team requested before going to Chechnya that he be tested by VADA after the fight and that he drank bottled water and ate at the same hotel every night, apart from a meal following his weigh in.
Browne says he was prepared to do polygraph and hair tests, if necessary, but was not confident of keeping his WBA belt because the decision was out of his hands.
"It's the same with boxing, I like KOs not decisions because it is in someone else's hands," he said.
The boxer vowed never to return to Chechnya, saying he had only gone there because Chagaev was banned from fighting in many countries because he had hepatitis B.
A member of Browne's team, promoter Brett Bonetti, said Russia and Eastern states had a history of drug and testing scandals, with fellow heavyweight Fres Oquendo also failing a drug test in Chechnya.
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