Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia were set to battle for the WBC super lightweight title, but Garcia missed weight. Although the fight proceeded, the title was not at stake, and Haney retained his championship despite losing.
The situation escalated when it was revealed that Garcia tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. This, along with his erratic behavior outside the ring, led Haney’s father to call for Garcia’s lifetime ban from the sport.
“Clearly there’s nothing that you can do with this guy, but get him out of the sport,” Bill Haney told TMZ Sports. “It’s a terrible thing for sports in general and boxing in particular.”
Bill Haney made a serious allegation, claiming that Floyd Mayweather supplied Garcia with the banned substances. “Floyd Mayweather, come out of hiding,” Haney continued. “You were thrilled about the 3.2 lbs that you helped Ryan Garcia come in overweight with. Now that he tested positive for four PEDs, you’re silent. What we want to know is, are you the middleman for the steroids?”
In since-deleted posts after the test results, Garcia wrote that he “F—ING LOVE[s] STEROIDS,” but his camp later stated that he has “never intentionally used any banned substance,” blaming the positive test on contaminated supplements.
“Ryan has voluntarily submitted to tests throughout his career, which have always shown negative results,” his camp said. “All factors point to Ryan being a victim of supplement contamination, with no performance-enhancing benefit from the microscopic amounts in his system. We are testing the supplements to determine the exact source.”
Garcia tested positive for Ostarine, a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) that promotes muscle growth and has been banned by the Anti-Doping Agency since 2008.
Garcia surprised many by defeating Haney, especially given his questionable social media behavior leading up to the fight. However, the New York State Athletic Commission is investigating the positive drug test, which further complicates Garcia’s standing in the sport.