"We're going to upgrade our testing policies. As soon as my medical advisory board gets back to me with their findings, we're going to look over their recommendations," stated Melvina Lathan, chairwoman of the New York State Athletic Commission, as she revealed that they're currently in the process of reviewing their current drug testing policies to determine what can be done to improve the regulation of boxing, particularly when it comes to the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Lathan admitted that recent concerns over the use of HGH, EPO, and other performance-enhancing drugs have prompted the commission to investigate the possibility of adding new policies that could include blood-testing procedures.
"We're tossing around a lot of policies," Lathan explained to George Willis of the New York Post. "We're trying to find out which ones work better for our state, for our boxers and for boxing. We're trying to get what works, and once we get all of those things together, then we'll come out with a statement about our policies."
Like most major boxing commissions, the NYSAC currently conducts urinalysis tests for banned substances immediately before and after bouts, but Lathan believes that the issue of better drug-testing procedures is something that needs to be addressed as the type of drugs continue to evolve. "It's been a number of years since it's been dealt with, and I think it's something we need to look at," she added. "It's still in the discussion phase. There are a lot more meetings and a lot more discussions left until we actually settle in on something final."
Exactly what type of changes will be implemented in the future remains to be seen, but it's clear that Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s request for more stringent blood-testing during negotiations with Manny Pacquiao is beginning to have a much bigger impact on the boxing community.