Did a banned IV drip give Floyd Mayweather a competitive edge against Manny Pacquiao prior to their May 2nd fight?
It’s possible, according to a new report by SB Nation.
via ESPN:
On the eve of his record-breaking megafight with Manny Pacquiao on May 2, pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather took an intravenous injection of saline and vitamins that was banned under World Anti-Doping Agency guidelines, according to a report by SB Nation on Wednesday.
Three weeks after the fight, Mayweather received an exemption from the United States Anti-Doping Agency, the report said. However, Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Bob Bennett said USADA does not have authorization to grant an exemption. Bennett said only the commission, which was not notified of the exemption until after it was given, can give an athlete an exemption.
Although the substances contained in the IV were not banned by WADA, whose standards USADA says it follows, the fact that they were given intravenously was not allowed.
According to the report, USADA, which had been contracted by Mayweather and Pacquiao to conduct random drug testing for their bout, sent collection agents to Mayweather’s house in Las Vegas the night before the fight to conduct an unannounced drug test.
The report was published on the day that Mayweather and Andre Berto held the final news conference for their welterweight championship fight Saturday night at the MGM Grand, which Mayweather has said will be the final bout of his 19-year career.
SB Nation’s account said Mayweather’s medical team told the collection agents that the IV — which reportedly included a 250-milliliter mixture of saline and multivitamins and a 500-milliliter mixture of saline and Vitamin C — was being given to Mayweather for rehydration purposes following the weigh-in.
WADA rules do not allow intravenous infusions or injections of more than 50 milliliters per six hours “except for those legitimately received in the course of hospital admissions, surgical procedures, or clinical investigations.”
According to the report, WADA bans such injections and infusions because they can be used to “dilute or mask the presence of another substance.”
Read the rest of the report here.
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