Report: Floyd Mayweather received banned IVs before Pacquiao fight
Floyd Mayweather Jr. received banned intravenous vitamin injections the day before his May 2 megafight against Manny Pacquiao that didn't comply with World Anti-Doping Agency guidelines, according to a lengthy SB Nation report on drug testing in boxing written by Thomas Hauser.
Mayweather received a retroactive exemption for the IVs from the United States Anti-Doping Agency almost three weeks after the fight.
Collection agents for the USADA went to Mayweather's Las Vegas home to give him a random drug test after the fight's May 1 weigh-in and "found evidence of an IV being administered" to the boxer. Bob Bennett, the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, says that USADA didn't tell the commission whether the IV was actually being administered when the agents arrived.
According to Mayweather's medical team, he was given two different mixtures of saline and vitamins to address dehydration concerns. While the mixes themselves aren't prohibited by WADA standards, their IV administration is prohibited by WADA guidelines because an IV infusion "can dilute or mask the presence of another substance that is already in the recipient's system or might be added to it in the near future."
For 20 days after the IV was administered, USADA chose not to notify the NSAC about the procedure. Finally, on May 21, USADA sent a letter to Bennett and NSAC chairman Francisco Aguilar, with a copy to Top Rank (Pacquiao's promoter), informing them that a retroactive therapeutic use exemption (TUE) had been granted to Mayweather, who didn't apply for the TUE until 18 days after his fight against Pacquiao.
Mayweather, 38, won the fight against Pacquiao by unanimous decision.
Reached for comment about the SB Nation piece, Bennett told the Review-Journal on Wednesday that he doesn't have a problem with Mayweather, but he does have a problem with the USADA.
"Floyd has always been a proponent of drug testing, which I applaud. He's set a fine example for all to emulate," Bennett said. "He's never tested positive in his entire career for any performance-enhancing drugs and, as a commission, we have no problem with Floyd Mayweather.
"As far as USADA, I was extremely disappointed that I wasn't notified right away (about Mayweather receiving an IV). When it comes to TUE, we are the sole agency that approves the administering of TUEs. USADA, nor any other anti-doping agency that does drug testing, doesn't have the authority to adminster a TUE.
"The bottom line is USADA didn't keep us informed, which is totally unacceptable and unprofessional."
Floyd Mayweather Jr. received banned intravenous vitamin injections the day before his May 2 megafight against Manny Pacquiao that didn't comply with World Anti-Doping Agency guidelines, according to a lengthy SB Nation report on drug testing in boxing written by Thomas Hauser.
Mayweather received a retroactive exemption for the IVs from the United States Anti-Doping Agency almost three weeks after the fight.
Collection agents for the USADA went to Mayweather's Las Vegas home to give him a random drug test after the fight's May 1 weigh-in and "found evidence of an IV being administered" to the boxer. Bob Bennett, the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, says that USADA didn't tell the commission whether the IV was actually being administered when the agents arrived.
According to Mayweather's medical team, he was given two different mixtures of saline and vitamins to address dehydration concerns. While the mixes themselves aren't prohibited by WADA standards, their IV administration is prohibited by WADA guidelines because an IV infusion "can dilute or mask the presence of another substance that is already in the recipient's system or might be added to it in the near future."
For 20 days after the IV was administered, USADA chose not to notify the NSAC about the procedure. Finally, on May 21, USADA sent a letter to Bennett and NSAC chairman Francisco Aguilar, with a copy to Top Rank (Pacquiao's promoter), informing them that a retroactive therapeutic use exemption (TUE) had been granted to Mayweather, who didn't apply for the TUE until 18 days after his fight against Pacquiao.
Mayweather, 38, won the fight against Pacquiao by unanimous decision.
Reached for comment about the SB Nation piece, Bennett told the Review-Journal on Wednesday that he doesn't have a problem with Mayweather, but he does have a problem with the USADA.
"Floyd has always been a proponent of drug testing, which I applaud. He's set a fine example for all to emulate," Bennett said. "He's never tested positive in his entire career for any performance-enhancing drugs and, as a commission, we have no problem with Floyd Mayweather.
"As far as USADA, I was extremely disappointed that I wasn't notified right away (about Mayweather receiving an IV). When it comes to TUE, we are the sole agency that approves the administering of TUEs. USADA, nor any other anti-doping agency that does drug testing, doesn't have the authority to adminster a TUE.
"The bottom line is USADA didn't keep us informed, which is totally unacceptable and unprofessional."
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