Ryan Garcia has seemingly confirmed that his B-sample is positive for the banned substance Ostarine after he failed two drug tests in April.
On 20 April, Garcia dropped Devin Haney three times en route to a shock decision win, but he was ineligible to dethrone the WBC super-lightweight champion after missing weight earlier in the week.
It was later revealed that Garcia had failed two drug tests before the bout in Brooklyn – one on 19 April and one on fight night. The tests were carried out by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (Vada).
The boxing world had been waiting for the B-sample from Garcia’s tests, and the 25-year-old seemed to confirm on Thursday (23 May) that the sample was positive for Ostarine.
“Lets go we positive,” Garcia tweeted. “Positive vibes bruh. Yess so happy.” In a tongue-in-cheek follow-up post, the American wrote: “I F***ING LOVE STERIODS [sic].” He added: “I don’t care I’ll never make money again with boxing. Your loss not mine.”
Garcia has since deleted the posts. The Independent has contacted Vada for comment, as well as Golden Boy Promotions, which represents the boxer.
Around the same time as Garcia published his tweets, boxing journalist Dan Rafael – who first reported the failed tests – tweeted: “Ryan Garcia’s B sample results were returned Thursday a.m., 1 day after being opened. I have the lab reports & the B samples, as expected, matched A samples.
“Both are positive for the banned PED [performance-enhancing drug] Ostarine related to VADA tests the day before & after Haney fight. New York commission received the B sample testing report (and already had the A report) and now it’s on the commission to schedule a hearing for Garcia, which figures to happen at some point this summer.”
Ostarine, a selective androgen receptor modulator (Sarm), is used to increase muscle growth. Specifically, Sarms can improve lean body mass by helping to regulate body fat.
Prior to fighting Garcia, Haney was unbeaten as a professional. The pair also fought six times as amateurs, each winning three of those bouts.
