Brandon Rios Fails Postfight Drug Test

It hasn't been the best of months for Brandon Rios. The gritty and profane hitter was handled with ease by Manny Pacquiao when they faced off in Macau on Nov. 23, and though he exited with a pretty payday, his rep took a further hit when it was disclosed that he failed his postfight drug test. ESPN's Dan Rafael reported that Rios, loser of a runaway decision to Pacman, tested positive for a stimulant, called methylhexaneamine. That chemical, which was deemed dangerous by the FDA this past April, was originally sold as a decongestant, but is now illegal to sell in the US.

After many decades of being moribund, it gained popularity when supplement crafter Patrick Arnold, who popularized andro and “the clear,” put it in weight-loss products. Arnold, a former cohort of Victor Conte, used the ban on ephedrine to sell methyl, as people searched for substitutes.In some regions, methyl is an ingredient in black market pills sold as euphoriants.

The testing on Pacman and Rios was performed by VADA.

In Rafael's story, promoter Bob Arum laid the blame for the positive at the feet of the strength, conditionign and supplement advisor for Rios for this bout, Alex Ariza.

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