By NICK GIONGCO, Manila Bulletin
Drug-testing procedures for a potential super fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., if held in Las Vegas, will be limited to urine testing, as far as the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) is concerned.
The NSAC upheld on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) its drug-testing procedure on boxers as topnotch doctors Robert Voy and David Watson told the commission that urine samples are sufficient in catching drug-cheats.
Fight scribe Mike Marley wrote that Voy, a long-time Olympic boxing physician, and Watson, a member of the NSAC medical board, were of the belief that random blood testing is not the answer to curbing the use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).
The two were involved in NSAC talks to review its current drug testing procedures for boxing, and assess whether or not a more stringent policy should be implemented.
It goes beyond saying that the talks were most critical to the proposed Pacquiao- Mayweather showdown being eyed for November 13, in which drug-testing procedures are a main point of negotiations.
Voy, formerly the chief medical officer of the US Olympic Committee, said blood-testing in boxing is “unreliable and impractical” and even “dangerous” and that urine testing should be done “closer to the event, the better.”
Watson echoed the same sentiment.
“I believe that urine is the best substance to test. I agree with Dr. Voy that urine (random testing) is what we should require and that blood is not necessary. I agree with Dr. Voy that there are theoretical and real risks to blood testing one of which is a (boxer getting) a hematoma on the elbow or a clot from missing a vein. There are also HIV and Hepatitis C risks,” said Watson.
The Pacquiao-Mayweather bout had originally been penciled for March 13 but a feud in drug-testing procedure sent negotiations down the drain.
Mayweather demanded for Olympic-style random blood and urine drug testing to be conducted on both fighters.
Source: mb.com.ph
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