Ryan Garcia shocked the boxing world on April 20 when he dropped Devin Haney three times en route to a majority decision victory. There was already an asterisk next to that victory after Garcia badly missed weight ahead of the bout, but things got worse on Wednesday evening after multiple reports stated Garcia failed a VADA drug test ahead of the fight.
Veteran boxing reporter Dan Rafael was the first to share a report of Garcia’s failed test, claiming the result was related to the performance-enhancing drug Ostarine. Rafael noted that Garcia tested positive on April 19 — the day before the fight — and on April 20 during his post-fight evaluation. ESPN’s Mike Coppinger then reported that they had obtained a VADA letter confirming the situation.
Garcia spent the build to the fight engaging in bizarre behavior, ranting on social media about various conspiracy theories, claiming to be in possession of proof of aliens and claiming to be drinking alcohol regularly, which he admitted after the fight.
After the win, Garcia claimed this was all part of an elaborate plan to “troll” boxing fans, media and Haney and his team. Were that the case, the plan appeared to work perfectly as Garcia pulled off the biggest win of his career. If the test samples are confirmed to be positive, the result of the fight will likely be overturned to a no contest.
Of course, Garcia missing weight by more than three pounds meant that Garcia was ineligible to win Haney’s WBC junior welterweight championship. The fight was originally planned as Garcia’s first shot at a world championship, as well as an opportunity to prove he could hang with the sport’s elite after getting dropped twice and stopped by Gervonta “Tank” Davis in 2023.
After posting a tweet featuring three crying emojis and “lol,” Garcia briefly went live on X.
“You guys can see fake news,” Garcia said. “Fake f—ing news. Don’t believe these f—ers. I never f—ing took a steroid in my f—ing life. I don’t even know how that shit, it’s the weirdest shit ever.
“Supposedly they had it already but they release it after I win? It makes no sense. I tested the day of the fight, nothing. … Somebody paying somebody.”
