Brandon Rios, who lost a lopsided decision to Manny Pacquiao in a welterweight fight on Nov. 23, suffered another defeat on Friday.
Several media outlets reported that the 27-year-old Rios, who agreed to random drug-testing by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, failed his post-fight drug test.
According to craveonline.com, Rios tested positive for the banned substance methylexanamine - a stimulant commonly known as dimenthylamylamine - or DMAA - and has been used in dietary supplements.
Craveonline.com reported that Rios had passed four pre-fight tests.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who put on the Pacquiao-Rios fight, told ESPN.com that the banned substance was not a steroid.
"I can say unequivocally that it was not a steroid-related substance," Arum told ESPN.com. "It was some substance that was like a minor kind of thing that you're not supposed to take, something you take for weight loss, like a diuretic. They say it's not a steroid but it was something you should not have in your urine after a fight. So it went to the (Macau) commission that was in charge of the fight, and they gave him a suspension. He is allowed to appeal."
Rios' trainer, Robert Garcia, told craveonline.com that he was not aware of a failed drug test.
Arum said the suspension could be for five or six months. He blamed Alex Ariza, Rios' strength and conditioning coach, for the positive test.
"Brandon had the genius, Ariza, trying to help him make weight," Arum said. "It is not the fighter's fault. It's the people who are conditioning him. He's following orders on what to eat and drink, so I don't blame him. Brandon's not a nutritionist. It's generally the conditioner's fault if the kid doesn't make weight. This is Ariza's fault."
Ariza told a group of reporters that the post-fight sample collection may have been tainted.
"The containers that are used to retrieve the urine samples weren't available after the fight. So they had Brandon pee into a (drinking) glass,'' Ariza told the reporters. "Robert (Garcia) just brought that to my attention. So we will have to see whether something happened as they transferred it to another glass, or whether it was the drinking glass, or there could be a lot of contaminants like that.
"I'm not saying that they did that, I'm just saying I don't know why we went through four testings, and we never tested positive for anything. And then, all of a sudden, there is some kind of dietary supplement that supposedly you can get in an energy drink. ... But I don't know, because I haven't seen the list."
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