Ryan Garcia tested positive for PEDs following his upset victory over Devin Haney last month, according to reports.
The 25-year-old floored Haney three times over 12 captivating rounds at Barclays Center to produce the biggest victory of his career following weeks of bizarre social media posts and rants in the buildup to the bout.
However, Garcia tested positive for the banned performance-enhancing drug Ostarine after taking a Voluntary Anti-Doping Association test, boxing journalist Dan Rafael reported Wednesday night.
He reportedly failed for the substance in two urine sample tests taken the day before the fight and also following the fight.
A sample also screened positive for 19-norandrosterone but is unconfirmed until further lab analysis, according to ESPN’s Mike Coppinger.
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Ryan Garcia has reportedly tested positive for PEDs following his upset victory over Devin Haney
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Garcia will now have 10 days to request his B-sample be tested, which he must pay for himself
Garcia will now have 10 days to request his B-sample be tested, which he must pay for himself.
The troubled boxer immediately took to social media to deny the claims Wednesday night, branding the reports ‘fake news’.
‘I came on here to address this bull-f***ing-s**t claim that I cheated,’ Garcia said in a video posted to X. ‘Everybody knows I don’t cheat.
‘What can I say? Why didn’t they come out with this before, if they found it before? Why would they still let me into the ring? I came out with a victory and then they post this.
‘These are people that are trying to attack me for whatever reason. But no weapon against me shall prosper. I’ve never taken a steroid in my life.’
Garcia continued to hit back at the reports in a series of social media rants, suggesting in one post that the news broke as an attack on him because he was pictured with Donald Trump.
‘Hmm I’m seen with trump,’ he wrote. ‘And now I’m positive for steroids. This is a straight attack. Crazy.’
‘I’m find out who paid who to create this lie,’ he added in another. ‘NOW IMA RELEASE EVERYONES S***. TIME TO EXPOSE THE REAL SNAKES.’
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The 25-year-old immediately launched into a social media rant, denying the reports
He also alleged that people were trying to take away his ‘greatest victory’ before insisting that he is not going to rematch Haney.
Garcia had pleaded his innocence in an X space where he was joined by his close friends who also denied the allegations, stating they were with him 24 hours a day.
‘I don’t even know how to get steroids, I don’t even know what it looks like,’ he insisted to his fans, while his friends in the space maintained that they had his back before it was swiftly ended after just four minutes.
In a statement made to ESPN following the claims, Haney said: ‘We learned about this situation not too long ago and 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.
‘I’ve always been an advocate for clean fighting and this is an example of such. Ryan owes the fans an apology, 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. You don’t play boxing.
‘This puts the fight in a completely different light. Despite the disadvantage, I still fought on my shield and got back up!
‘People die in this sport. This is no laughing matter.’
In a clip posted on Garcia’s social media last Friday night, he shadow boxed in front of a smiling Trump and a small crowd – at what appears to be the 77-year-old’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
‘Donald Trump 2024!’ Garcia then shouted. Alongside the video, he added a caption which read: ‘TRUMP IS MY FRIEND’
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Boxing star Ryan Garcia showed off his fast hands to former US president Donald Trump
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The 25-year-old then endorsed him for president, shouting to the crowd: ‘Donald Trump 2024!’
Garcia had weighed in at 143.2lbs ahead of the fight, 3.2lbs heavy meaning he had to pay out a huge $1.5million to Haney after agreeing to pay $500,000 for every pound over that he came in at during a Thursday press conference.
For much of the past few months, meanwhile, Garcia has been in the headlines for his antics outside the ring. Before beating Haney, he divorced the mother of his newborn son and then proposed to Australian porn star Savannah Bond.
Since his victory, however, Garcia has been surrounded by other women. He was pictured hand-in-hand with TikTok star Grace Boor in Miami.
That came shortly after he was seen getting close to influencer Alexa Dellanos. She has 9m followers on Instagram and is the daughter of American TV host and journalist Myrka Dellanos.
Then, in another Instagram video, Garcia was lounging around with a mystery woman, who is sporting a diamond ring that is supposedly valued at $1.5million.
