New York state officials announced Thursday that boxer Ryan Garcia will be suspended until April 2025 after testing positive for a banned substance and will forfeit any prize money he won from his bout with Devin Haney as part of a settlement with the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC).
Haney's lawyer, Pat English, said Garcia's share of the prize money is $1.1 million. The New York State Department of Justice said the forfeited prize money will be returned to the promoters, not the NYSAC, and told USA Today Sports it could not confirm the amount.
According to a news release issued by the New York State Department of Health, if Garcia presents the commission with a clean urine test, his New York state professional boxing license will be suspended until April 20, 2025, exactly one year after the Haney fight in Brooklyn.
Garcia's majority decision victory was changed to a “no contest” and the NYSAC fined Garcia $10,000, according to a news release. The NYSAC ruled on the matter because the fight took place in New York.
California Athletic Commission Executive Director Andy Foster said he supports the suspension and expects all other states to follow suit.
A statement issued on behalf of the 25-year-old Garcia said the boxer was the victim of a tainted supplement.
“Ryan has voluntarily submitted to random testing for many years, including during periods outside of competition, and has never been found to be in violation,” the statement said. “He has maintained an impeccably clean record throughout his career and has greatly elevated and transcended the sport of boxing, earning the respect and admiration of millions of fans around the world.”
The statement claimed the amount of Ostarine was too small to give him an advantage against Haney, adding that “fans will always remember his performance against Haney as a master class that will never go away.”
Body Health, which makes one of two supplements that Garcia claimed was tainted with ostarine and caused him to fail a drug test, said testing by two accredited laboratories found the product to contain no ostarine.
“Body Health prioritizes quality and safety and takes any claims to the contrary very seriously,” the company said in a news release.
The supplement in question was strawberry flavored Perfect Amino.
On Wednesday, Garcia announced in a post on Twitter that he was retiring from boxing. He made a statement That seemed to indicate that was not the case: “He will be back in the ring soon, and better than ever!” the statement said.
