Brandon Rios insists ‘he is not a dirty fighter,’ questions final drug test
In this Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013 photo released by The Venetian Macao, Brandon Rios of the United States, accompanied by his trainer Robert Garcia, left, arrives at the main lobby of the Venetian Macao in Macau. AP
MANILA, Philippines – Mexican-American boxer Brandon Rios denied using illegal substances and insisted that he is not a dirty fighter after he reportedly failed his post-fight drug test Saturday (Manila time).
“Like I told you man, I know I’m not dirty; I’m not a dirty fighter,” Rios, who absorbed a unanimous decision setback over Manny Pacquiao last November 24 in Macau, China, told Yahoo! Sports in a telephone interview.
“If they want to test me 24-7, day and night, day and night, they could test me all they want. I know I don’t take no steroids. I don’t take no drugs. I don’t take no diet supplements or [expletive] like that. The way I fight, I’m all natural. I’m a strong [expletive].
“I take a punch very well. When I lose weight … this is the first time I’ve lost weight the right way. I followed a diet plan and I had an actual nutritionist.”
The 27-year-old Rios passed the first four tests but failed the final test given by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA), which raised eyebrows in the Rios camp as far as the procedure is concerned.
Rios tested positive for dimenthylamylamine, commonly known as DMAA, a stimulant found “in the over-the-counter fitness supplement Jack3d.”
DMAA is also a substance banned both by VADA and the World Anti-Doping Agency.
The former lightweight champion questioned the collection process of the last test.
“The collector did not bring a sealed collection kit with him to his suite,” Rios said, saying he only urinated in a glass and not in a regular container.
“This time, he had me [urinate] in a regular glass, and a lot of [expletives] touched that cup,” Rios said. “A lot of people touched that cup and put [expletive] in it. They just washed it with dish wash, or whatever they do it with. That’s why I’m suspicious, because they had me [urinate] in a regular cup, not one of the containers like they always had me do before.
Rios added: “I had to wait 20 minutes [for someone to bring a sealed collection kit] and my [urine] wasn’t even warm no more. It was cold.”
After passing several tests, Rios also found it odd that the timing of his failed test only came after a scuffle had broken out between his conditioning coach Alex Ariza and Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach.
“I’m not going to sit here and point and blame nobody,” Rios told Yahoo! Sports boxing expert Kevin Iole. “I passed all of those other tests and all of a sudden, the last time, the last one, after we had that incident, then that’s when we tested positive.”
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