Boxing star Ryan Garcia has been suspended one year after reaching a settlement with the New York State Athletic Commission following his positive tests for the performance-enhancing drug ostarine, the commission told ESPN on Thursday.
The suspension is retroactive to Garcia's April 20 decision victory over Devin Haney, which has been overturned to a no-contest.
Garcia, 25, also lost her purse, the commission said. His disclosed purse was $1.2 million, sources said, which is what he will give up, although his guaranteed earnings were millions more. The commission said it also fined Garcia $10,000.
“I want to thank the commission and the fans who supported me throughout this process,” Haney told ESPN during a phone interview Thursday. “Facts are facts, and I wasn't on equal footing. Happy that I was able to receive justice for what happened. It's all part of my story and it will only make me better. I hope to enjoy this moment.” with my family and friends and see what's next.
“I am a clean athlete and boxing is a brutal sport where one fight can literally change your life. I think it is important for fighters to be clean and I want to become an advocate for clean athletes because of my experience in this situation.”
Garcia will be reinstated on April 20, 2025, provided his urine analysis does not contain banned substances, the commission said. Agreement with the commission to accept punishment means a hearing is avoided.
“It's a tough result,” Haney's attorney, Pat English, told ESPN. “I've never seen a $1.2 million seizure or anything remotely like that.”
Haney, 25, was ESPN's No. 6 pound-for-pound boxer when he suffered the big loss to Garcia. Haney was a -900 favorite, according to ESPN BET, before entering the ring at -575 after Garcia was 3.2 pounds overweight for the 140-pound title contest.
Garcia was ineligible to win the WBC junior welterweight title, which Haney held, after missing weight. Haney had never been knocked down in 31 previous professional fights, but was knocked down in the 7th, 10th and 11th rounds en route to the majority decision loss. But that loss has now been erased from Haney's record, and he is once again 31-0.
“The commission will continue to hold athletes to the highest professional standards and protect the integrity of all sports under our jurisdiction,” the commission said in a statement.
Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) will now be sidelined for at least a year. The Association of Boxing Commissions, which comprises all major athletic commissions in the US, will honor any suspension of a member of that group.
Garcia's career-long layoff came 15 months after he pulled out of a scheduled July 2021 fight against Javier Fortuna to address his mental health and then canceled a fight that same year against Joseph Diaz Jr. following surgery. in the hand.
“Ryan, with his legal team, has resolved this issue and steadfastly maintains his truth: he never intentionally took any banned substance,” the Garcia team said in a statement provided to ESPN. “It's just not in his nature…Fans will always remember his performance against Haney as a masterclass, and that will never be erased.”
Garcia, one of the sport's top attractions, last earned an official victory in December when he knocked out Oscar Duarte in the eighth round. Before that, he suffered the only loss of his career in April 2023, when he was stopped in the seventh round by Gervonta Davis. in a fight that generated more than 1 million PPV buys.
Ostarine is a selective androgen receptor modulator that binds to proteins in the body and actually tells muscles to grow. It can be used to improve performance by helping athletes build muscle mass and improve their rate of fat loss and also to increase endurance and recovery ability. It has been on the World Anti-Doping Agency's banned substances list since 2008, and in 2022 it was listed as an anabolic agent by WADA.
Ostarine has been used before in boxing. Lucian Bute tested positive in 2016 after a draw with Badou Jack in their WBC super middleweight title fight. The result was changed to a DQ victory for Jack.
Amir Khan received a two-year ban from UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) after he tested positive for ostarine following his sixth-round TKO loss to Kell Brook in 2022.
“I am innocent,” García posted on
