NYSAC suspends Garcia for 1 year over positive tests in Haney fight
Also forfeits $1.1 million base purse; Haney speaks exclusively to FFU: 'I think he should have been banned for even longer' and 'been fined even more'
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The New York State Athletic Commission on Thursday suspended Ryan Garcia for one year and the fighter forfeited his $1.1 million official contract purse as punishment for failing two drug tests for the banned substance Ostarine.
The failed tests were related to Garcia’s majority decision win over Devin Haney in their April 20 pay-per-view showdown at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. However, the result of the fight was also overturned and now officially is a no contest. It erases the win from Garcia’s record and the first loss from Haney’s record. Garcia’s record is now 24-1 with 20 KOs and Haney is 31-0 with 15 KOs.
The commission had the latitude to change the result to a disqualification loss for Garcia but went with the much more common practice of making it a no contest.
The suspension is backdated to April 20, meaning Garcia can reapply for a license on that date in 2025. Garcia will also be subject to random drug testing by the commission and must submit a clean drug test before he can be relicensed. He was also fined $10,000, which goes to the commission and is the maximum fine allowed.
The purse forfeiture would return the base purse to Golden Boy Promotions, although Garcia will still collect what he is owed on his percentage of the pay-per-view profits.
This was all part of a settlement agreement between Garcia and the commission. Had Garcia not accepted the terms it is possible the commission could have imposed even harsher penalties.
“The New York State Athletic Commission has reached a settlement with Ryan Garcia following his bout on April 20th at the Barclay’s Center,” the commission said in a statement given to Fight Freaks Unite. “Under the terms of the Consent Order, Mr. Garcia is subject to the following actions: 1) his win against Mr. Devin Haney has been changed to an official ‘no-contest’; 2) his purse has been forfeited; 3) a fine of $10,000.00 has been imposed; and, 4) his New York State professional boxer license will be suspended until April 20, 2025, and until such time as he provides a clean urinalysis to the Commission.
“The Commission will continue to hold athletes to the highest professional standards and protect the integrity of all sports under our jurisdiction.”
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Less than 24 hours before the commission announced the penalty, Garcia wrote on social media, “I’m officially retired.”
He went on to make numerous other posts railing about the penalty. In one post, Garcia wrote, “I’m headed to the UFC” and in another he wrote, “Yall never went thru what I’ve been thru I’m innocent. You don’t know what I’m feeling.”
Haney was pleased by the commission’s decision.
“I want to thank the New York State Athletic Commission for doing the right thing and making the right decision,” Haney told Fight Freaks Unite. “I’ve seen a lot of people standing up for what’s wrong and not right. Performance enhancing drugs should be in no sport, especially boxing. Every time we step in the ring we put our lives on the line. I just want to be on an even playing field every single time that I step in the ring.
“It could have happened to anybody. I’m thankful it happened to me because I’m strong enough to be able take what happened and move forward and have it not break me.”
Haney also said he was satisfied with the commission’s decision to change the result to a no contest instead of making it a DQ win for him, even though that is what his lawyer urged the commission to do in a recent letter.
“I wouldn’t have wanted to have a victory that way. I’m a real fighter,” said Haney, the former undisputed lightweight champion. “I’ve gotten 31 wins stepping in the ring and winning the right way. I wouldn’t have felt right it being a victory on my record when I didn’t win the fight.
“But the loss comes of my record because I wasn’t on an even playing field. I stepped in the ring with a guy that was taking performance enhancement drugs and at the end of the day it’s not a fair fight and I wasn’t in a fair fight. It was the right thing for (the loss) to be removed. I can only thank Allah that justice was served.”
Garcia’s legal team issued a statement and continued to claim the positive tests were due to contaminated supplements. Under New York rules, which adhere to strict liability, Garcia is responsible for what is in his system however it got there.
“Ryan Garcia was a victim of substance contamination, with levels measured in the billions and trillions of a gram, which provided no advantage whatsoever in the ring,” the statement said, but offering no proof or documentation to support their assertions. “Ryan, with his legal team, has resolved this issue and firmly maintains his truth: he never intentionally took any banned substance. It’s simply not in his nature.
“For many years, Ryan has voluntarily submitted to random testing, even during out-of-competition periods, and has never had any issues. He has maintained an impeccable and clean record throughout his career, significantly elevating and transcending the sport of boxing, earning respect and admiration from millions of fans worldwide. The fans will always remember his performance against Haney as a masterclass and that will never be erased.”
I obtained the lab reports for Garcia’s B test failures. You can see them here:
Haney said he thought Garcia had no choice but to accept the settlement agreement and said he got off light.
“It wasn’t’ much fighting he could do. He was guilty. It was proven,” Haney said. “The proof was in the pudding. He had no choice but to accept his punishment. I think he should have been banned for even longer. I think he should be banned from boxing and I think he should have been fined even more. I should have been receiving some of the money that was forfeited because I was the one taking the punches in there. I was the one that was affected.”
Garcia, 25, of Los Angeles, scored three knockdowns against Haney, 25, of Las Vegas, in a majority decision win over WBC junior welterweight titlist Haney, but Garcia twice tested positive for the banned performance-enhancing drug Ostarine in a pair of random Voluntary Anti-Doping Association urine tests, one the day before the fight, whose results were not known until after the fight, and one was from another urine sample collected on the day of the bout.
Garcia asked for his B samples to be tested and, as expected, they both were also positive for Ostarine when the results were returned May 23.
The New York commission also took its own urine samples from the fighters and had them tested under its usual standards. But its less expensive and less complete protocol did not include tests for Ostarine and many other substances. However, once Garcia’s positive VADA tests were returned, the commission had a sample it collected from Garcia — unrelated to the sample provided to VADA — tested for Ostarine and it was positive. That means Garcia had at least one additional positive drug test than was previously disclosed, sources with knowledge of the additional test told Fight Freaks Unite.
Even though Garcia was awarded the decision he was not eligible to win the 140-pound world title because he was 3.2 pounds overweight — which he later said he did on purpose to give himself an edge — and Haney could not lose the belt.
Garcia’s behavior leading up to the fight was extremely erratic as he bragged about partying and drinking during fight week. He even drank a bottle of beer while standing on the scale for the ceremonial weigh-in the day before the bout.
His life since the fight has been seemingly out of control as well. On June 8, an apparently intoxicated Garcia, who has publicly discussed his mental health issues in the past, was arrested for felony vandalism at the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills, California, after the hotel accused him of causing around $15,000 in damage to his room and a hallway. In California, damage more than $400 is considered a felony.
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Garcia photo: Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy
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If Ryan had been contrite and apologized. He likely would've been suspended for a much shorter length. But instead he's chosen a cynical path, paved with lies and outrageous behavior. Maybe he should throw his red hat in the ring for Vice President.
Anybody else just tired of Garcia? Good grief, for someone who has never held a major world title (I'm not counting his 5 min as an interim champ) the guy is constantly in the news for all the wrong reasons. Everyone hating Jake paul, please direct some of that heat at Ryan it's much more deserved.
Any moral high ground Garcia lost when he intentionally came in over weight. Contaminated or not, nobody believes him.
I know if you don't fight you don't get paid but I remember several people saying haney shouldn't take the fight when Garcia blew the weight so bad. I know buddy mcgirt was one. Hindsight is always 20/20 but Devin and especially Bill have yet (to my knowledge) acknowledge their culpability in this.