What punishment has Ryan Garcia received after positive drug tests?
‘KingRy’ defeated Devin Haney in great fashion in April but the fight was declared a no-contest after the rising star tested positive for Ostarine.
Ryan Garcia has been the focus of controversy in boxing over the last few weeks. The rising star, one of the most charismatic fighters in boxing thanks to his skills and speed and his large amount of followers on social media, had the chance of earning superstar status when he fought Gervonta Davis in April 2023.
However, KingRy was defeated after the Baltimore native landed a nasty left hook to his liver. The referee gave him the count but Garcia was unable to stand up, losing by knockout in the seventh round.
After that, he tried to get an immediate rematch with Tank, but Davis had other plans. But despite losing, Garcia was seen as a talented, PPV-material boxer, and given he only lost to Davis in his professional career, he still earned a shot at a big fight against Devin Haney.
Against all odds, Garcia put on the best performance of his life, defeating The Dream by majority decision after sending the San Francisco-bred star to the canvas three times. Shortly after it was revealed that Garcia tested positive for the performance-enhancing substance Ostarine. A few days later, his B-sample came back positive for that banned substance.
Which sanction did Ryan Garcia receive after his positive for Ostarine?
The sanction for Ryan García (24-1) after testing positive for Ostarine was announced a day after saying that he retired from professional boxing.
According to boxing journalist Dan Rafael, García and his legal team reached an agreement with the New York State Athletic Commission and the boxer will be suspended for one year. Likewise, he will lose $1,1 million from his fight purse and that money will go to Golden Boy Promotions, while Haney could receive a percentage of that amount.
Moreover, the fight against Haney (31-0) was made official as a no-contest so The Dream recovered his undefeated record. Besides that, Garcia will be fined $10,000 from the commission.
Haney told ESPN he’s grateful for the commission’s work and happy to receive justice for what happened. He’s now focusing again on his goals as a fighter, and he’s expected to enter the ring to defend his World Boxing Council lightweight belt (WBC) against Spain’s Sandor Martin.
Ryan Garcia says he never cheated
Garcia kept saying the supplements he took before the fight were contaminated and that no dose was high enough to enhance his performance.
“They took my victory away. It’s okay, I’m retired. I’ll come back in a year. I was already retired so I’ll just come back out of retirement for a year. Nothing that was in my system was enough for any! This is why I’m done with the game. I never…cheated…”, Garcia posted on his socials.
Garcia was considered as one of the rising stars in the sport. Despite losing to Davis, many believed he had the potential to become one of the best boxers of the new generation.
His image after testing positive for Ostarine has been damaged and won’t be able to compete again for a year. It will be interesting to see if this punishment will affect him negatively during his boxing career or if the 25-year-old fighter will return to boxing stronger after this.