MANNY Pacquiao (left) and Brandon Rios show off the special belt that will go to the winner of their welterweight bout on Sunday, November 24, 2013. AFP FILE PHOTO
Three weeks after taking punishment from Filipino boxing star Manny Pacquiao, Brandos Rios could be facing another one.
Rios, the former lightweight champion, has reportedly failed his post-fight drug test after badly losing to Pacquiao in their 12-round welterweight bout last November 24 at The Venetian in Macau, China.
According to Yahoo! Sports expert Kevin Iole, Rios tested positive for dimenthylamylamine, commonly known as DMAA, a stimulant banned both by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) and the World Anti-Doping Agency.
The two fighters took tests given by VADA. Pacquiao cleared all the tests while Rios passed the first four but failed the final test.
Top Rank honcho Bob Arum, who serves as promoter for Pacquiao and Rios, confirmed to ringtv.com that the hard-as-nails Mexican-American indeed failed his post-match test.
“There was a little something in his urine after the fight,’’ Arum said. “It was something they (VADA) reported to the Chinese commission after the fight. He passed all the tests before that.”
The Hall-of-Fame promoter, though, said that the substance “wasn’t a steroid.”
“It was probably something he took to make weight,” Arum added.