Devin Haney has expressed his dissatisfaction with Ryan Garcia’s positive drug tests for the banned substance ostarine and Garcia’s response to the situation, following their April 20 boxing match which Garcia won.
Devin Haney ain’t exactly thrilled. Ryan Garcia’s positive drug tests and his reaction to it all? Not cool.
News broke on Wednesday night. Garcia tested positive for ostarine, a banned substance. Not once, but twice. The tests were conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA). One pre-fight on April 19, the other post-fight on April 20.
Garcia’s response? Denial. He took to social media, firing off tweets and hosting a Twitter Spaces. The guy even beat Haney in a hotly contested match on April 20 in Brooklyn. Majority decision. Major upset.
Haney’s reaction to Garcia’s drug test failures? A statement.
“We learned about this situation not too long ago,” Haney shared. “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.” This statement was made to ESPN and shared on his Instagram stories.
Haney’s always been about clean fighting. He sees this as a prime example. “Ryan owes the fans an apology,” he said. “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. We don’t play boxing.”
The fight? It’s seen in a completely different light now. “Despite the disadvantage, I still fought on my shield and got back up.”
Haney’s not joking around. “People die in this sport. This is not a joking matter.”
There’s more. Garcia missed weight ahead of the highly anticipated matchup. It was supposed to be for Haney’s WBC super lightweight title. Garcia’s miss made him ineligible to win the belt. The whole situation? One of the weirdest and wildest storylines in recent boxing memory.
Will Garcia’s win stand? That’s still up in the air. He has a 10-day window to request a B-sample test.
The loss? It was Haney’s first as a pro boxer. He had been on a winning streak, taking his first 31 bouts.