Controversy Won’t Be Bottled Up for This Fight

The Great Bottle Controversy bubbled over Thursday when Fernando Vargas was granted permission by the Nevada State Athletic Commission to use a sports drink in his corner for Saturday night’s junior-middleweight rematch against Shane Mosley at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

After a protest by Richard Schaefer, Mosley’s promoter, over the use of the sports drink was denied by the commission, Schaeffer said he would seek a temporary restraining order today and left open the possibility that Mosley would withdraw from the fight altogether.

“That will ultimately be up to Shane,” Schaefer said.

At the center of the issue: A 20-ounce bottle of Gatorade.

Taking advantage of a new rule by the commission that permits the use of approved sports drinks other than water during boxing matches, handlers for Vargas received permission for their fighter to use Gatorade as long as it is a clear liquid and is factory-sealed when brought into the ring.

Said Schaefer: “I guess Vargas needs something in his body. The last time, it was steroids.”

Schaefer was referring to Vargas’ positive test for steroids after a 2002 match against Oscar De La Hoya.

The use of sports drinks is one item on a list of changes in boxing procedures revealed Wednesday that go into effect next month. Other changes will cover such things as medical exams, gloves and weigh-ins.

Keith Kizer, executive director of the commission, said he would approve immediate changes on a case-by-case basis.

Vargas said he requested the use of Gatorade because it’s something he regularly drinks during training.

“This is a big deal,” Schaefer said. “It’s not really right. It creates an uneven playing field to decide this the week of the fight. You’ve got to give more than two days’ notice so the other fighter can also experiment with different drinks.”

Said Mosley: “Water is fine for me. That’s what I use in training camp. If you are going to use sports drinks, you have to try them first in training. You might have a bad reaction to the sugar.”

Mosley’s handlers later said the fighter might use bottled water enhanced with electrolytes Saturday night.

Kizer said he approved Vargas’ request because he felt Gatorade would not enhance a boxer’s performance but could serve as a safeguard against dehydration.

“There is nothing performance enhancing in this drink,” Kizer said, “no stimulant. It’s just sodium and potassium. No sugar.”

The Gatorade website, however, lists, along with sodium, potassium and chloride, carbohydrates that include glucose, sucrose and fructose.

Kizer says he has been told that it takes at least an hour after consumption for a person’s body to experience an energy burst from the drink.

Not so, insists De La Hoya, another of Mosley’s promoters.

“I have used Gatorade when I spar,” De La Hoya said. “I might be tired after going eight rounds, but once I use that drink, my energy for the ninth round goes through the roof.”

Kizer said the key is what happens after the match.

“In the 15 to 20 minutes after the fight,” he said, “this drink may allow the fighter’s body to rehydrate quicker and prevent him from possibly being so dehydrated he needs an IV. I would hate to say no to Fernando and have him wind up in a hospital because of gamesmanship. Using these sports drinks can’t hurt a fighter, may not help, but if they keep one in 100 out of the hospital, it’s worth it.”

The possibility of spillage also was raised by the Mosley camp.

“This drink could get on the fighter’s body and his gloves,” Schaefer said. “and then, from those gloves, it could get in the other fighter’s eyes. It could get sticky all around. This is a sticky affair.”

Kizer says he has taken that possibility into consideration.

“We tried this with a test run with ‘The Contender’ and it wasn’t a problem,” he said of the boxing reality TV show. “But if it turns out there is no way to avoid spillage, we’ll go back to water.”

And what does the Vargas camp think of the protest?

“This is America,” said Carl Moretti of Vargas’ Main Events promotional organization. “They have every right to file a protest.”