Jaime Munguia opens up on being cleared of PED use: 'I'm not a cheater, whether in life or in sports'

"I'm not a cheater, whether in life or in sports," former WBO super welterweight champion Jaime Munguia told Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show" through a translator on Tuesday. "I'm a clean guy. I've always worked hard physically, mentally, [and] emotionally to get to where I am."

News broke earlier this month that Munguia was cleared by UK Anti-Doping and the British Boxing Board of Control after an investigation concluded that his failed doping test in May was due to a false positive caused by contamination.

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Mexico's Munguia initially returned an adverse analytical finding for exogenous origin of testosterone metabolites in a Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency post-fight drug test following his victory over Bruno Surace on the Saul "Canelo" Alvarez-William Scull undercard in May.

"It took me by surprise," Munguia recalled of his initial reaction. "Right at the beginning, I took it a little [lightly] because I just thought, 'This is impossible.' My whole life, I've been in sports. I've always been clean. I've never used anything to enhance my performance, so it truly took me by surprise. Once I heard it, the next day, I went and took a test myself, and of course, it was negative. That's when I started being concerned about it."

Munguia's positive test was revealed at the end of May, with his B-sample also testing positive for the same substance the following month. As Munguia's bout with Scull took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where all bouts are sanctioned by the BBBofC, it was left upon the BBBofC and UKAD to investigate the offenses and determine punishment.

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"I tried to stay cool about it," Munguia said. "There's something that a lot of people don't know about. They think that the A sample and the B sample are different, but truly, they're not. They're actually taking a sample from the same urine, so it's pretty impossible that the first one and the second one are going to come out [differently]. So, I immediately started taking action. I analyzed all my supplements. I did my own testing, and I'm so glad that [the supplements] came back contaminated."

Munguia was able to prove that his failed doping test was a false positive, caused by accidental contamination with pregnenolone — a substance that does not appear on the World Anti-Doping Agency banned list. It was also concluded that the levels of the substance in Munguia's body were extremely low, which meant that they provided no performative advantage and were consistent with accidental contact rather than intentional use.

"There was actually no punishment," Munguia told Uncrowned. "We were trying to deal with it, and in fact, I felt very supported. Immediately, we checked out my food [and] my supplements. Actually, we started doing some testing [on my food and supplements]. We sent it to the exact same lab where the testing was done [for my failed test]. I sent even my supplements, and they came [back] with the results that about four of them were actually contaminated by something called pregnenolone."

"I want to make it known that it's not an illegal substance, but it was just not marked in the ingredients that the supplement had. We sent it to this lab in France. One of the best labs that there is, and yes, they confirmed that there was some contaminant over there. Again, I want to make it clear that [pregnenolone] is not illegal."

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Munguia confirmed to Uncrowned that he's now free to fight and said that he hopes to return to the ring in November or December.

It will be his second camp under Eddy Reynoso, who is the trainer of the undisputed super middleweight champion "Canelo" Alvarez. Munguia lost a unanimous decision to Alvarez in May 2024 and then joined the camp in early 2025 following his shock knockout loss to Surace in December.

Canelo is days away from putting his belts on the line against fellow pound-for-pound great Terence "Bud" Crawford at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and in front of a multi-million Netflix audience.

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"I believe that Canelo should be the one who wins," Munguia predicted. "He's bigger, he has more experience, he's stronger. I truly believe that he should take the win."

"I do believe that Canelo can stop him. Like I said, he's bigger [and] he's stronger. It's not the same being at [super welterweight as it is] being at super middleweight."