Keith Kizer: Nevada Athletic Commission won't close door on adding USADA testing -- Grand Rapids Press

By David Mayo, The Grand Rapids Press

LAS VEGAS -- The Nevada Athletic Commission allowed expanded drug testing as a contractual negotiating point for tonight’s Floyd Mayweather-Shane Mosley fight but that doesn’t mean it will push for such testing as its standard.

Keith Kizer, executive director of the powerful boxing commission, said it always seeks to improve its regulatory authority in practical and economically feasible methods, although blood testing is neither on the immediate agenda, nor ruled out.

"We've never foreclosed ourselves from anything,” Kizer said. “We added the steroid testing back in 2000, 2001. We added the out-of-competition drug testing a few years back. As our budget allows, we made a few changes on that.”

Mayweather pushed for random blood and urine testing, under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, in his failed negotiations for a fight with Manny Pacquiao. Mosley subsequently agreed to those terms.

Mayweather has said such testing will be a mandate for all his future fights.

The Nevada commission will conduct its own pre-fight and post-fight urine testing tonight, as per its statute. USADA officials requested the right to get its post-fight urine sample before the state commission “and we said absolutely not,” Kizer said.

Kizer called the USADA testing “purely supplemental and we appreciate that.”

As for the possibility that recent improvements in blood testing for human growth hormone might make expanded drug testing desirable -- the New York commission chairman has said that body intends to investigate that very possibility -- Kizer said the Nevada commission will “never close the door on adding to or improving our regulation."

Mayweather has faith in Garcia
Mayweather demanded enhanced drug testing even though he used pain-killing injections earlier in his career, when he suffered from frequent hand injuries. He hasn’t had a major hand issue in several years.

Asked about that issue this week, he skirted the question and said his hand issues were alleviated after he worked a few months with hand-wrap specialist Rafael Garcia, who joined his team in 2001.

“I didn't do nothing wrong,” he said. “They didn't find nothing in my system. I've got Rafael. All I've got to say is I've got Rafael and Rafael has done a tremendous job. Rafael Garcia has done a tremendous job. You get what you pay for in life. You want your hands wrapped the best, so you won't have any hand problems? Get Rafael Garcia."

Aging gracefully
Mayweather and Mosley had similar takes on how their habits have changed as older fighters.

"When you're 21, 22, even though you're in training camp, you're going out clubbing,” Mayweather said. “I didn't have no vice but you're going out clubbing and, in the last three weeks, the last two weeks, you're in the house, just chilling. But now the main thing is just coming to the gym, doing my job, just going home, watching basketball. Just living life.”

Mosley said when he was “22, 23 years old, I could work out the whole day, train the whole day, come back the next day and do the same thing, next day do the same thing. As you get older, you can't train recklessly the whole day and then expect to come back the next day."

Source: mlive.com