Brandon Rios fails drug test for Pacquiao bout

By Boxing News - 12/13/2013 - Comments

rios59By Dan Ambrose: Former WBA lightweight champion Brandon Rios (31-2-1, 23 KO’s) has reported tested positive for a banned substance following his one-sided 12 round unanimous decision loss to Manny Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38 KO’s) last month in Macao, China. According to RingTV, Rios tested positive for the drug methylexanamine, which is used as a dietary supplements. The drug showed up in Rios’ urine after the fight.

A drug like this could be used for a fighter to try and make weight if they’re having problems cutting weight. Rios reportedly struggled to get down to the 147 lb. limit after having put on a great deal of weight following his defeat against Mike Alvarado in March of this year. That fight took place at 140, but Rios rehydrated up to close to 160 after the weigh-in.

Arum said via RingTV “There was a little something in his urine after the fight. It was something they (VADA) reported to the Chinese commission after the fight. He passed all the tests before that. It wasn’t a steroid. It was probably something he took to make weight.’’

It’s still too early to tell what suspensions or fines will be handed down, if any, for Rios testing positive.

This is the first time that Rios has tested positive before a fight, and you have to wonder whether he might have ingested something while in China to throw off the tests.

Rios plans on staying at welterweight now because it’s too much of a struggle for him to make the 140 lb. division. But with him now barely making 147, he might want to think about moving up to 154 to try and see if he can find the same success that he did at 147. One of the problems that Rios may now have at 147 or even 154 is that he no longer has a weight advantage over his opponents like he did when he was fighting at 135. Rios was able to rehydrate and come into his fights much bigger looking than his opponents in that weight class. When he moved up to 140, it wasn’t the same. And now that he’s at 147, Rios is just an averaged size fighter. If he moves up to 154, then he can pretty much forget it. He’d had to win on talent alone rather than size.



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