Devin Haney has labelled Ryan Garcia ‘dirty and disrespectful’ after it was revealed that Garcia tested positive for two banned substances prior to his remarkable victory last month. Despite being the underdog against WBC super-lightweight champion Haney, Garcia managed to secure a majority decision victory on the scorecards following three brutal knockdowns.
However, Haney’s title was not at stake and he remains the champion as Garcia failed to meet the 140-pound limit. The fight could now potentially be declared a no-contest following the revelations reported by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association.
Urine samples taken from Garcia, aged 25, both the day before and on the day of the fight, were found to contain the prohibited performance-enhancing substance Ostarine. The A-sample analysis also indicated a positive test for 19-norandrosterone, although additional testing is needed to confirm its presence.
Mauricio Suleman, the WBC president, confirmed via his X account that ‘adverse findings’ had been discovered and that ‘due process’ would commence immediately.
Ostarine is known to speed up fat loss and muscle growth, as well as enhance stamina and recovery abilities, while 19-norandrosterone is a metabolite of nandrolone and can have effects similar to Ostarine. Both substances are banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Haney accused Garcia of “cheating” after the positive test was revealed to their teams on Wednesday, but Garcia vehemently denied the allegations in a social media video, saying: “Everybody knows that I don’t cheat. Never taken a steroid. I don’t even know where to get steroids. I barely take supplements. Big lies, I beat his ass.”
Following his first career defeat at the hands of Garcia at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Haney expressed his dismay, saying: “We learned about this situation not too long ago and it’s unfortunate Ryan cheated and disrespected both the fans and the sport of boxing by fighting dirty and breaking positive not once, but twice.”
He continued: “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.”
Golden Boy Promotions, led by Oscar De La Hoya, issued a statement supporting Garcia: “Ryan has put out multiple statements denying knowingly using any banned substances – and we 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.”