American pro boxer Ryan Garcia has responded to claims that he tested positive for a banned performance-enhancing drug (PED) a day before defeating Devin Haney as well as on the day of the fight.
In a video he posted on X, formerly Twitter, Garcia, 25, denied claims that he cheated during his fight against Haney, who was defeated in a surprising upset after reports suggested he tested positive for a banned substance.
“Why didn’t they come out with this before, you know, the fight if they found it before?” Garcia said in the video. “Why would they let me step into the ring as a cheater and then come out with a victory and then they post this?”
USA Today reported, citing an ESPN report by Mike Coppinger in which he revealed that he had obtained a copy of the letter that Garcia and Haney received from the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA).
The report said that according to the letter by VADA, which conducted drug testing for the April 20 bout between the two boxers, Garcia was found to have consumed Ostarine.
Ostarine is a Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator (SARM) not approved for human use or consumption in the United States or any other country, as per the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
It is prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Garcia has 10 days to request his B-sample be tested, as his A-sample also screened positive for 19-norandrosterone but that result was still unconfirmed, according to ESPN.
Garcia’s post on X came after Haney released a statement to ESPN, saying his opponent “cheated and disrespected both the fans and the sport of boxing by fighting dirty and breaking positive not once, but twice.”
