Ryan Garcia Tests Positive For Banned Substance Surrounding Win Over Devin Haney
Ryan Garcia refuses to slow down on his at-length victory lap.
He may, however, be forced to give back the actual victory.
The Ring has learned that Garcia returned at least two positive drug tests surrounding his April 20 win over Devin Haney. Urine samples collected on April 19 and post-fight on April 20 showed evidence of the banned substance Ostarine [Enobosarm].
All involved parties were informed by Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) via letter, a copy which was obtained by The Ring. The letter also indicated the unconfirmed presence of Nandrolone, also from the April 19 pre-fight testing sample.
Their fight took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The DAZN Pay-Per-View/PPV.com event was sanctioned by the New York State Athletic Commission, who will investigate the matter. Garcia floored Haney in rounds seven, nine and ten en route to a majority decision win.
Haney (31-1, 15 knockouts) retained the WBC 140-pound title despite the defeat. The belt was no longer at stake once Garcia weighed a career-heaviest 143.2 pounds during the April 19 official weigh-in.
Garcia was required to pay a fine and rework the fight contract to move forward with the main event. He now faces additional disciplinary action if unable to disprove the test results.
Garcia (25-1, 20 KOs) has ten days to request testing of the B-samples. Athletes are required to cover that expense. For now, he has gone the route of his new friend, former U.S. president and 2024 presidential hopeful Donald Trump.
“I’m here to address this bull-fucking-shit claim that I cheated,” Garcia stated in a video posted through his Instagram account. “Everyone knows that I don’t cheat. What can I say? Why didn’t they come out with this before the fight, if they found it before? Why would they let me step into the ring as a cheater?
“I come out with the victory and then they post this. These are people that are trying to attack me for whatever reason. No weapon against me shall prosper.”
That doesn’t quite cut it with his longtime rival.
“We learned about this situation not too long ago,” Haney said in a statement provided to Tbe Ring. “It’s unfortunate Ryan cheated and disrespected both the fans and the sport of boxing by fighting dirty.”
“Ryan owes the fans an apology, and by his recent tweet he still thinks this is a joke. We put our lives on the line to entertain people for a living. You don’t play boxing. This puts the fight in a completely different light. Despite the disadvantage, I still fought on my shield and got back up! People die in this sport. This isn’t a joking matter.”
The only fair point raised by Garcia is on the flaws in test result turnaround time.
It does not, however, disprove its validity. The 25-year-old Victorville, California native is well aware of this, as he posted his own negative result from earlier in camp.
“I’ve never taken a steroid in my life, I don’t even know where to get steroids.,” insisted Garcia. “I barely take supplements. They’re saying it’s coming from the ashwaganda, that’s fucking retarded. Big lies, I beat his ass. Fuck outta here.”
His supporting cast remains intact.
“Ryan has put out multiple statements denying knowingly using any banned substances,” Golden Boy said in a provided press statement. “[W]e believe him. We are working with his team to determine how this finding came to be and will address this further once we conclude that process.”
Enobosarm is a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM). Its primary purpose among men is to prevent muscle loss. The substance was banned by World Anti-Doping Agency in 2008. It is not approved for any medical use—prescribed or otherwise.
It continues to show up in boxing circles, however.
The most recent instance was in Amir Khan’s test results surrounding his February 2022 knockout defeat to Kell Brook. The former 140-pound titlist was subsequently dealt a two-year ban, although he announced his retirement by that point.
Former WBC super middleweight titlist Lucian Bute also tested positive for Enobosarm in his April 2016 draw with Badou Jack. The substance was discovered from a post-fight sample whose results were returned on May 27, four weeks after their title fight. Bute insisted ingestion through a contaminated supplement. His B-sample also came back positive, its results not learned until August 12, nearly four months after the fight. The Washington D.C. commission accepted Bute’s contamination alibi but still issued a six-month suspension and $50,000 fine.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
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