Star boxer Ryan Garcia examined constructive for the performance-enhancing substance ostarine the day earlier than and the day of his upset win over Devin Haney final month, per a Voluntary Anti-Doping Affiliation letter despatched to all events Wednesday and obtained by ESPN.
The urine samples had been collected previous to the struggle, however the outcomes weren’t recognized till later.
Garcia has 10 days to request that his B-sample be examined. Garcia’s A-sample additionally screened constructive for 19-norandrosterone, however its presence is unconfirmed till additional lab evaluation.
“All people is aware of that I do not cheat,” Garcia mentioned in a video posted on X. “By no means taken a steroid. … I do not even know the place to get steroids. … I barely take dietary supplements. Large lies, I beat his ass.”
Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions mentioned in a press release that it’s working with Garcia’s group to “decide how this discovering got here to be.”
“Ryan has put out a number of statements denying knowingly utilizing any banned substances — and we imagine him,” Golden Boy mentioned in its assertion.
Garcia, 25, floored Haney thrice and received by majority resolution, however that consequence now stands to be overturned except the B-sample returns destructive, which is uncommon.
“We realized about this case not too way back and it is unlucky Ryan cheated and disrespected each the followers and the game of boxing by combating soiled and breaking constructive not as soon as, however twice,” Haney mentioned in a press release to ESPN.
“… Ryan owes the followers an apology, and by his current tweet he nonetheless thinks it is a joke. We put our lives on the road to entertain individuals for a residing. You do not play boxing. This places the struggle in a totally completely different mild. Regardless of the drawback, I nonetheless fought on my defend and bought again up! Folks die on this sport. This is not a joking matter.”
Garcia (25-1, 20 KOs) additionally missed weight forward of the struggle, registering 143.2 kilos for the WBC 140-pound title struggle. Garcia paid Haney (31-1, 15 KOs) upward of $600,000 for his failure to make weight. It additionally meant Garcia was ineligible to win the title, although he rose to No. 2 in ESPN’s junior welterweight rankings following the key upset.
Haney, who fights out of Las Vegas, remained the junior welterweight champion even in defeat. He fell to No. 4 in ESPN’s 140-pound rankings and misplaced his pound-for-pound recognition after being ranked No. 6 by ESPN going into the struggle.
“Security, equity, and integrity in skilled athletic competitors are important,” the New York State Athletic Fee mentioned in a press release to ESPN. “The Fee is in communication with VADA and is reviewing the matter.”
Ostarine is a selective androgen receptor modulator that attaches to proteins within the physique and successfully tells muscle mass to develop. It’s used to assist efficiency by serving to athletes construct muscle mass and improve their charge of fats loss and in addition to extend stamina and restoration capability.
It has been on the World Anti-Doping Company’s banned checklist since 2008 and in 2022 was listed as an anabolic agent by WADA.
Ostarine has been utilized in boxing earlier than. Lucian Bute examined constructive for it in 2016 following a draw with Badou Jack of their WBC tremendous middleweight title struggle. The consequence was modified to a DQ win for Jack.
Amir Khan was handed a two-year ban by UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) after he examined constructive for ostarine following his sixth-round TKO loss to Kell Brook in 2022.
Haney was a -900 favourite, based on ESPN BET, however he closed at -575 after Garcia missed weight. The slick-boxing Haney, the previous undisputed light-weight champion, had by no means been knocked down getting into the struggle, however Garcia deposited him on the canvas in Rounds 7, 10 and 11 along with his lightning-quick left hook to tug out the victory.
The win was a career-altering efficiency for Garcia, who has by no means received a world title however boasts an enormous social media presence with greater than 12 million followers on Instagram. His lone profession defeat got here through seventh-round TKO vs. Gervonta Davis final April.
Haney defeated future Corridor of Famer Vasiliy Lomachenko final Might to retain his 4 135-pound titles. He made his 140-pound debut in December with a shutout resolution victory over Regis Prograis to win the WBC junior welterweight title.
