When your own home state doesn’t even back you, then you are in trouble. The Nevada State Athletic Commission slammed the door shut on the USADA, Travis Tygart, random blood testing, and Floyd Mayweather’s ‘drug crusade’.
During a commission meeting on urine testing vs. random blood testing the NSAC determined that random blood testing should have a cut-off date and that urine should be the predominant substance tested. Blood Testing is Not Necessary One of the more controversial statements to come out of this commission meeting was from Dr. Watson when he said that testing blood is not necessary. ‘I believe that urine is the best substance to test,’ and that ‘blood testing is not necessary.’ Dr. Watson, Boxing Examiner I understand the arguments for certain cut-off dates and other factors that go into when or how often a blood test should be taken, but to say that’s not even necessary is absurd. Urine can’t detect some of these elite PEDs like HGH. HGH HGH is arguably the most predominant PED out there due to the lack of efficiency in catching those using this drug. Because the USADA’s rates of catching those using it, Dr. Voy, NSAC expert witness, suggest that there’s nothing that can be done about so blood testing is not needed. “HGH is out there and there’s not much we can do about it.” Dr. Voy, Boxing Examiner Are you kidding me, so instead of having an imperfect drug testing system for HGH, you rather not have one at all? How does that make any sense? Seatbelts don’t always save lives, so let’s just get rid of them too. This is absolutely ignorant. Yes, I understand Dr. Voy has a higher level of understanding but does that mean he’s right? How many experts can each side call before you crazy trying to figure who’s right and wrong? How is additional testing a bad thing especially if you have a cut-off date?
EPO Another interesting comment by Dr. Voy was his assessment of EPO. According to the Doctor, he doesn’t see how it can benefit a boxer. “I’m of the opinion that EPO is not a performance enhancer in boxing or that it gives you more endurace although that is the perception.” Dr. Voy, Boxing Examiner Victor Conte actually had a sensible argument toward what Dr. Voy had said about EPO: “Only a blood test, not a urine test, can determine the thickness of a boxer’s blood, which could help to avoid serious health consequences” Conte, Fanhouse According to Conte, blood tests can detect excessive levels of red blood cells, from EPO abuse, which can lead to a stroke or a heart attack. When was the last time a urine test can detect excessive level of red blood cells. Can you say ‘NEVER’? So, not only can blood testing be used to detect PEDs but it can also be used to detect any blood abnormalities that are specifically related to serious medical conditions. Why wouldn’t you want the extra safety? Dangers of taking Blood Another nugget of information to come out of this meeting was that taking blood could cause hematomas, blood clots, or other vein related issues. I agree that this could be disastrous if it happened closer to a fight. So, that’s why a cut-off date is necessary. But making the cut-off date for 3-4 weeks out is just too far. Someone should have asked these so-called experts when was the last time an amateur athlete got a hematoma from blood tests. Let’s just settle on 2 weeks out and call it a day
Money Ultimately, this all comes down to money. These tests aren’t cheap. Travis Tygart suggest that Casino and PPV revenues can cover the costs. I agree with him.
All parties involved make millions of dollars. In fact, there’s so much money made off of big boxing matches that there’s no reason why some of it can’t be used to improve the drug testing. Now the ultimate question is, How will Floyd Mayweather Jr respond? Floyd Mayweather Jr Ultimately, Floyd Jr gets what he deserves. He started all of this drug testing stuff through his controversial accusations that Manny Pacquiao was taking drugs. In the end, it’s money that prevents the NSAC from implementing more tests.
We can debate the science behind blood and urine tests all day; but if these USADA blood tests were free then I guarantee more commissions would be using them. I’m curious to see who Floyd Jr will respond. Basically his ‘drug crusade’ has been destroyed. His random blood tests won’t be required in the state of Nevada.
And if the NSAC won’t accept blood testing up to the day of the fight then I don’t see any other state doing it. Therefore, Floyd Mayweather Jr has lost on this one. The only real option that Floyd Jr has is to wait until next year and see if the USADA can persuade the NSAC to change their minds. I’m wondering if this is another reason why Floyd Jr said he wanted to take 1-2 years off.
