Brandon Rios fails VADA Drug Test

MANILA, Philippines – Brandon Rios, a former lightweight title holder, has failed his post-fight drug test by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) following his recent loss to Manny Pacquiao in Macau last November 24, ESPN.com reported.

According to the report, Rios tested positive for a banned stimulant called methylhexaneamine. The drug is said to be used as a dietary supplement as well as a performance-enhancing drug.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told ESPN.com that Rios has already been suspended by the Macau Commission, which was set up by the WBO to oversee the fight, but was unsure for how long. He said Rios was allowed to appeal.

Arum also added that he "can say unequivocally that it was not a steroid-related substance" and that it was "a minor kind of thing that you're not supposed to take, something you take for weight loss, like a diuretic."

He also blamed Rios' strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza.

"Brandon had the genius, Ariza, trying to help him make weight," he said in the report by Dan Rafael on ESPN.com.

He further explained that it's not the fighter's fault since he is only following orders from his conditioning coaches as to his diet for a fight.

"It is not the fighter's fault. It's the people who are conditioning him. He's following orders on what to eat and drink, so I don't blame him. Brandon's not a nutritionist. It's generally the conditioner's fault if the kid doesn't make weight. This is Ariza's fault."

ESPN.com also pressed Ariza for answers after the weigh-in of Adrien Broner and Marcos Maidana, for whom Ariza is currently a strength and conditioning coach. But he declined to expound on the issue.

"We disclosed everything we were taking," said Ariza, who was also a former strength and conditioning coach of Pacquiao.







--Rappler.com