For every statement or tweet. For every explanation or excuse. For every accusation that shifts the blame and tries to change the narrative.
It all ended with Ryan Garcia accepting a one-year suspension, a seven-figure fine and the reversal of his win over Devin Haney in a settlement with the New York State Athletic Commission, while continuing to maintain his innocence and fight the persecution.
It's appropriate. It's infuriating. It's stupid. It's Shakespearean.
This is the story of a would-be hero whose quest for glory led him to become a villain. This is the story of a villain who tries to protect his ill-gotten gains and finally accepts his destiny.
And, to quote the poet, “It is a tale told by fools, full of noise and fury, and meaningless.”
Garcia told me this before his bout with Haney, preparing for the pay-per-view in April. He was ugly and annoying and often fooled around and acted out.Garcia claims it was all a performance, that he was playing mind games with his opponent, but his actions afterward suggest otherwise.
Garcia hasn't changed much since his fight with Haney. It's a combination of mental health issues and other personal problems. Add to that an infuriating mix of ignorance and stupidity. Add to that the behavior of a social media phenomenon who will say and do anything for attention. Add to that the fact that he's got raw talent and the fame and fortune that comes with it, and people have encouraged his misbehavior for years.
The upshot for those who aren't Garcia fans, or who haven't turned their dislike of Haney into support for Garcia, is that Garcia will either put up or shut up, or both.
Garcia's lone effort came on April 20 in the ring, when he knocked Haney down three times and hurt him on several other occasions, but he still struggled through most of the rounds with the fight being stopped en route to a majority decision victory.
And even that was tainted.
That was tainted before they learned that Garcia tested positive in urine samples taken the day before and the day of the game.
And whatever Garcia, his defenders and Haney's critics may have said afterward, their reputation was further tarnished after the election results became known.
Initially, before the positive test was revealed, Garcia's win over Haney was reminiscent of the second bout between Jose Luis Castillo and Diego Corrales.
Garcia, like Castillo, was more than three pounds over the agreed-upon weight limit. Haney said: Like Corralesaccepted a financial deal to go ahead with the bout. The first round of Corrales vs. Castillo already showed that Castillo could hurt Corrales if they were on equal footing. However, while Corrales had worked himself up to make weight for the rematch, Castillo had not. Castillo was much stronger, as he was not as weakened, and was able to knock out Corrales with a left hook in the fourth round.
Garcia purposely didn't make 140 pounds for this bout with Haney, so Haney was faced with a difficult decision. He had put in a full training camp and all the time, physical and mental effort and expense that went with it. Haney was a former lightweight champion and currently holds the junior welterweight title, but this was the biggest event of his career and a potential stepping stone to even bigger goals. Sure, Haney received $600,000 from Garcia for agreeing to move forward, but that doesn't eliminate the risk and the competitive disadvantage.
Those who argue that Haney gained a lot of weight between the weigh-in and fight day should consider two things: first, it was within the rules of the competition committee and governing body, and second, a fighter's ability to perform is as much a function of losing weight as it is gaining weight.
So as the third fight between Corrales and Castillo approached, with Castillo once again coming in overweight, Corrales made a different choice for the third fight than he did for the second and called the bout off.
“He backed me into a corner and tried to get me to make calls I didn't want to make,” Corrales said. Boxing writer Dan Rafael said at the time:“I trained for nine and a half weeks for a fight, and tomorrow I have to walk around and watch other people fight, and I can't do that. I cut weight, I trained to fight, and now I can't because of other people. What I did last time was sacrifice for my team, sacrifice for everyone who loves this sport, sacrifice for the fans, the reporters, the promoters, the casinos, sacrifice for everyone who wanted to see the fight. I sacrificed for everyone. Why couldn't he sacrifice this time? The only difference between me and him is that I'm a professional.”
Not only did Garcia intentionally gain weight, but he also gained weight while taking Ostarine. Helping athletes lose weight without losing muscle massSo, he got stronger by not cutting his weight down to 140 pounds, and artificially building muscle at 143 pounds made him stronger than he would have been otherwise.
No, Garcia's use Ostarine did not create a flaw in Haney's defense. or Haney's weak chin, but it's reasonable to conclude that Garcia could have exploited each of those weaknesses better. Garcia would have fared better had he taken a more natural 140.
Would Garcia have won that night anyway? There's no way to know. The point is, there's a reason athletes use performance-enhancing drugs — and that reason, of all things, is to improve performance.
Haney vs. Garcia is now a “no contest.” Haney is again undefeated at 31-0 (15 KOs). Haney holds the WBC World Title, which was no longer on the line after Garcia failed to make weight.
But the damage has already been done, physically and otherwise. Haney has a clean record, but he still has to rebuild, regain respect and prove he's better than he showed against Garcia.
That rebuild can only happen in the ring and with more effort from Haney and his team. Recover the losses incurred Since the loss, No Longer There, Haney has become unsellable due to April 20. His next fight could be a title defense against Sandor Martin. Haney received far fewer bids than he had hoped for..
When the fight between Deontay Wilder and Alexander Povetkin was called off due to Povetkin's use of a banned substance, Wilder sues Povetkin and winsWhile Haney and Garcia's situations are very different, it's understandable that Haney would consider such a measure to punish Garcia beyond the NYSAC's decision: fighters cheat because they believe they can pass testing and that the penalties will be light if they are caught.
Garcia may have thought he could pass the test, and perhaps avoid or minimize any punishment. His statements defy logic and undermine credibility.
Garcia said he has never used banned substances. His hair sample was negative. And he will restore his honor.
but, According to a 2017 survey: The same expert who performed Garcia's hair test said, “Hair testing should not be considered a substitute for urine testing, but only as a supplement in case of a positive result.” […] Clearly, if a urine test gives a positive result, a hair test will not give a negative result. […] If the urine test comes back positive, we will overturn it.”
and, According to a 2021 study by the same experts:“The authors present eight examples of anabolic steroid abuse. […] In three cases, steroids were also present in body hair but not in scalp hair.
Garcia also questioned why he tested positive just before a fight after previously testing negative — a logic that doesn't take into account the effects of microdosing and how weight loss can allow banned substances to enter the bloodstream from muscle tissue.
Garcia also made contradictory statements. Ostarine came from two supplements he took.But his team apparently didn't follow standard protocol: Instead of testing unopened supplements from the same batch, Garcia's team submitted opened ones, which could have been tampered with.
One of the companies that manufactures these supplements Rebelled violently Garcia's allegations.
And overall, fighters are still responsible for what they put into their bodies.
Garcia also tried to implicate Victor Conte, the notorious figure who two decades ago helped athletes such as Barry Bonds, Shane Mosley and Marion Jones cheat. Conte has recently been working with Haney and other boxers, helping them with nutrition, strength and conditioning. He has also been a vocal advocate for improved drug testing, particularly through the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, which frequently organizes drug tests at major boxing bouts.
“Victor Conte has no affiliation with VADA” “VADA is a nonprofit organization that provides education and training to millions of people worldwide,” Dr. Margaret Goodman, who runs VADA, told me in 2012.“He, along with others like Dick Pound and Dr. Don Catlin, taught me about PEDs. He certainly knows a lot about PEDs. I think one of the reasons PED testing isn't as rigorous in boxing and MMA is because the committees aren't talking to the right people.”
And as Dan Rafael reported earlier this week, Garcia tested positive for ostarine in not only the VADA sample, but also the sample obtained by NYSAC.
“The New York Commission also collected its own urine samples from combatants and tested them according to the usual standards. But its less expensive and less thorough protocols did not include testing for ostarine and many other substances.” Raphael wrote:“However, after Garcia's VADA test came back positive, the committee tested a sample taken from Garcia (unrelated to the sample provided to VADA) for ostarine, which also came back positive.”
It is not surprising that Garcia and his team realized they had reached a deadlock in their relationship with the committee and that a settlement was the best course of action. The punishment is significant, but it could have been much worse.
It is no wonder that rather than admitting his guilt and showing remorse, Garcia is still trying to win in the court of public opinion.
The hero-turned-villain is supposed to realize his own stupidity, accept the punishment that befalls him as just, and experience catharsis.
That's not Garcia. Not yet. He's too early in the tragic hero cycle. He hasn't yet fully realized the role he played in his own downfall.
To quote Shakespeare again, “I am more often sinned against than I sin.”
Maybe Garcia will grow out of this. But judging by his recent interactions, he probably won't. Garcia has a year to think about this. Unfortunately, he'll probably spend that time posting his dissenting opinions on social media and engaging in endless monologues that are more polemical than poetic.
Ryan Garcia may not be Shakespeare, but he's been ruled out for now.
Follow David Greisman on Twitter Fighting Words 2His book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing' is available for purchase on Amazon.
