Note: USADA Did NOT Test Molina

UPDATE: I asked Nevada commish executive director Bob Bennett to furnish a statement on the positive and asked about a possible punishment. “Not at this time as his hearing is pending,” Bennett responded on Tuesday afternoon.

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News dropped last week that boxer John Molina tested positive for a banned substance, a diuretic, from a sample or samples taken before or after his last bout, which came on March 7, against Adrien Broner at the MGM in Las Vegas, in a PBC event.

Molina lost via UD12 decision, and that was his third straight L in a row. The Nevada commission announced the positive and it wasn’t clear to me who did the testing service. In January, it was announced that all fighters fighting in a PBC series bout would be subjected to “rigorous, Olympic-style random drug testing by the United States Anti-Doping Agency [USADA],” as per a story running on Fight Hype.

I reached out to USADA, to see if they ran the test, and might be able to shed some light and, among other things, what penalties Molina might be subject to.

I reached out to USADA PR manager Christy McGee, to see if any info exists on boxer John Molina, who tested positive for a PED. She responded:

“At this point in time we have not tested any fights for John Molina. If you have any questions regarding testing for Mr. Molina, you would need to contact the Nevada State Athletic Commission.”

She sent along this information about USADA’s testing in boxing:

USADA is regularly contracted to conduct pre-competition and in-competition testing for fights in the sport of professional boxing. The boxing program uses the same protocols as those used for Olympic movement testing in accordance with the WADA Code. You can find more information about our program at http://www.usada.org/services/ . We do collect both blood and urine samples for analysis which allows us to test for substances like EPO and hGH as well as use special analysis such as CIR. USADA only uses independent, WADA-accredited laboratories, which are monitored by the World Anti-Doping Agency to insure the highest level of integrity during the analysis process.

I reached out to Haymon Boxing, to see where they stood with the testing-by-USADA situation. A spokesman said they would be checking with their consel, presumably to figure out privacy concerns. I will keep you apprised if I received clarification.

I saw Molina Friday night in NYC, at the BWAA dinner; he looked me in the eye and said he looked forward to clearing his name, and reiterated, as he communicated via social media, that the positive came as a surprise to him, and he didn’t knowingly use a diuretic.

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