Ryan Garcia receives 1-year suspension for failed drug test, Devin Haney win overturned

Ryan Garcia won’t be fighting again anytime soon even if he wants to.

Boxing reporter Dan Rafael initially broke the news Thursday that Garcia will receive a minimum one-year suspension from competition as part of a settlement with the New York State Athletic Commission after he tested positive for banned substances following an April 20 bout against rival Devin Haney. Garcia also forfeits his official contract purse to Golden Boy Promotions, totaled at $1.1 million, and he must pay a state fine of $10,000.

Perhaps worst of all for Garcia, his dramatic majority decision win over Haney has officially been overturned to a no-contest. Haney sees his undefeated record restored to 31-0, while Garcia’s reverts back to 24-1.

“The New York State Athletic Commission has reached a settlement with Ryan Garcia following his bout on April 20th at the Barclay’s Center,” officials from the New York State Athletic Commission said in a statement sent to MMA Fighting. “Under the terms of the Consent Order, Mr. Garcia is subject to the following actions: 1) his win against Mr. Devin Haney has been changed to an official “no-contest”; 2) his purse has been forfeited; 3) a fine of $10,000 has been imposed; and, 4) his New York State professional boxer license will be suspended until April 20, 2025, and until such time as he provides a clean urinalysis to the Commission.

“The Commission will continue to hold athletes to the highest professional standards and protect the integrity of all sports under our jurisdiction.”

The news comes a day after Garcia announced his retirement from on social media, the culmination of months of erratic behavior exhibited by the 25-year-old boxer. Garcia tweeted out a number of outlandish claims on his social media accounts and eventually showed up to the Haney fight three pounds over the limit for their bout, which forced him to pay Haney a $600,000 penalty and made him ineligible to win Haney’s WBC super lightweight title.

Garcia impressed in the contest, knocking Haney down three times en route to a win on two of the three judges’ scorecards. A win that has now been scratched from the record books.

Haney reacted to the news on Twitter, thanking the commission for their decision but questioning the decision for Golden Boy to receive the fight purse.

“Thank you too the commission for doing the right thing & making the right decision. I don’t understand how Golden Boy is getting any money as if they took any punches. They haven’t even spoke out about this PED situation.”

On the other side, Garcia’s team issued a statement denying that the fighter has ever knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs:

Ryan Garcia was a victim of substance contamination, with levels measured in the billions and trillions of a gram, which provided no advantage whatsoever in the ring.

Ryan, with his legal team, has resolved this issue and firmly maintains his truth: he never intentionally took any banned substance. It’s simply not in his nature.

For many years, Ryan has voluntarily submitted to random testing, even during out-of-competition periods, and has never had any issues. He has maintained an impeccable and clean record throughout his career, significantly elevating and transcending the sport of boxing, earning respect and admiration from millions of fans worldwide.

The fans will always remember his performance against Haney as a masterclass, and that will never be erased.

Ryan will continue to elevate the sport and will be actively involved in advocating for reform. We hope future changes in our system will address issues like this one.

We want to thank all of the fans who have continued to support Ryan, not only during the great moments but also through the difficult times that life brings. He will be back in the ring soon and better than ever!

Garcia’s team has argued that the fighter’s positive drug tests are the result of contaminated supplements.

Then Garcia himself took to Twitter to respond directly to the report, maintaining that he never cheated, vowing to come back when his suspension is over, and teasing a move to the UFC.