Manny Pacquiao wants rematch after Floyd Mayweather IV report

Manny Pacquiao told reporters in the Philippines that he wants a rematch with Floyd Mayweather after reports of Mayweather’s intravenous injection before his May fight against Pacquiao.

Manny Pacquiao told reporters in the Philippines that he wants a rematch with Floyd Mayweather after this week’s reports of the intravenous vitamin injection Mayweather received before the duo’s fight in May, reports AFP.

Mayweather’s IV injection was first reported by Thomas Hauser in a report on SB Nation on Thursday. Mayweather received a retroactive therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for the IV nearly three weeks after the fight. Without an exemption the injection goes against World Anti-Doping Agency guidelines.

The much-anticipated fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao in Las Vegas took years to set up because of the insistence by Mayweather‘s camp that Pacquiao adhere to strict drug-testing guidelines. Mayweather went on to win the fight by unanimous decision.

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“That is why I want a rematch,” Pacquiao said, according to AFP. “One without any injury and with fair play. No favoritism. Not one where the Mayweather camp gets to dictate all the terms and conditions.”

According to Hauser’s report, USADA employees who arrived to administer a random drug test to Mayweather after the fight “found evidence of an IV being administered” to the boxer. Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Bob Bennett told Hauser that USADA did not clarify specifically whether Mayweather was receiving an injection when the collection agents arrived at his home.

Mayweather’s medical team told NSAC that the IV injection was given “to address concerns related to dehydration,” according to Hauser’s report.

Although WADA guidelines prohibit IV infusions before a fight because they can potentially mask performance-enhancing drugs and obscure various biological levels in an athlete, a United States Anti-Doping Agency source told AFP that because Mayweather obtained the TUE, no offense was committed under WADA rules.

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[h/t SB Nation, USA Today Sports]

- Mike Fiammetta