By: Sean Crose
Yesterday was clearly not a good day for Ryan Garcia. The controversial 25-year-old boxer nearly had the book thrown out by the New York State Athletic Commission after testing positive for the banned substance ostarine before and after his big win over Devin Haney in Brooklyn last spring. Not only was the win over Haney overturned, Garcia was also suspended from fighting in New York (which is pretty significant anywhere, since commissions tend to defer to each other’s rulings) for a year .
On top of that, the boxer known as “King Ry” also had to say goodbye to a lot of money. The millions of dollars that made up the purse for the Haney fight would have been lost (Garcia ended up making more money for the fight, but a million dollars is a lot to lose no matter which way you look at it). Last but not least, Garcia is also being fined $10k for having a performance enhancing drug in his system. Suffice it to say, Haney, who was soundly defeated by Garcia in their April fight, was delighted when the loss was converted to a “no contest” in the official records.
“Thank you also to the commission for doing the right thing and making the right decision,” Haney stated on social media. On the other hand, Garcia was clearly angry with the verdict. “They took away my victory,” he said on social media. “It’s okay, I’m retired, I’ll come back in a year.” Sure enough, Garcia announced his retirement the day before the New York Commission’s ruling — a move that surprised some because of its timing. However, Garcia had a lot more to say, which is certainly not surprising, as the boxer has become famous for many shocking statements on social networks.
“Take away my victory,” he posted, “add it to the list of bad things I’ve been through – I’m ready for work – Get ready, I don’t give a fuck – Run when you see me.” Garcia also expressed his desire to move to the UFC, the first mixed martial arts promotion. “I’m headed to the UFC,” he said. “Dana White actually hit me.” As is his wont, the 24-1 fighter now continued to post furiously into Thursday night.
Meanwhile, Garcia’s promoter Golden Boy (ironically, the man who would receive Garcia’s millions of dollars in confiscated funds) presented a united front to the media. “Ryan Garcia was a victim of substance contamination,” the agency said in a press release, “with levels measured in billions and trillions of grams, providing no benefit in the ring.” Golden Boy went on to assert that “fans will always remember his (Garcia’s) performance against Haney as master class, and that will never be erased.”
