Ryan Garcia suspended for 1 year, Devin Haney win becomes no contest after positive PED test

The surreal sequence of events that began with Ryan Garcia’s career-defining victory over Devin Haney has resulted in at least a one-year suspension for the erratic boxer, according to veteran reporter Dan Rafael.

Garcia’s settlement with the New York State Athletic Commission will also reportedly see him forfeit his win over Haney, with the fight officially becoming a no-contest. He will be forced to forfeit his $1.1 million contract purse and pay a $10,000 fine, the state maximum.

Garcia quickly confirmed his win was vacated via social media, repeating his Wednesday announcement that he is supposedly retired.

He then suggested a move to the UFC was in the works and called out UFC President Dana White.

Garcia’s team later released a statement calling him “a victim of substance abuse” and saying, “The fans will always remember his performance against Devin Haney as a masterclass.

Meanwhile, Haney welcomed the news, which will see him go undefeated again with a record of 31-0 (1).

Garcia tested positive for Ostarine, listed by WADA as an anabolic agent, after defeating Haney by majority decision in April and soon had his B sample test positive as well. The development tarnished a victory that could have catapulted Garcia to true boxing stardom, with three knockdowns of the WBC lightweight champion.

That win already had an asterisk because Garcia was more than three pounds overweight, costing him $1.5 million via an ill-advised bet made the day before with Haney and a shot at Haney’s WBC title belt.

With a suspension clearly in place, Garcia’s camp noted that two supplements the boxer declared to doping authorities tested positive for Ostarine contamination, indicating Garcia had not knowingly ingested the substance. A lack of track record and a clean hair sample strengthened that argument.

According to documents obtained by ESPN, the supplements in question are raspberry lemonade flavored NutraBio SuperCarb (which tested positive for Ostarine at 70-2200 picograms per gram of powder) and Body Health’s strawberry flavored amino acid blend (660 to 830 picograms).

Garcia’s legal team told ESPN that they believed only a four-month suspension was warranted, but the NYSAC apparently thought otherwise.

Ryan Garcia claimed he retired amid a bizarre series of incidents

While the matter of Garcia’s positive tests has been resolved, that’s just part of an incredibly turbulent year for a boxer who can be unstable at the best of times.

Since the beginning of 2024, Garcia has…

It was in that context that Garcia posted another rant on social media on Wednesday, proclaiming, “I’m officially retired” and “Forget I existed before everyone else.”

Considering everything that’s happened with Garcia over the past six months, it’s hard to take that retirement announcement seriously, but it also can’t be ignored. It’s definitely a mystery when Garcia will fight next, and not just because of his suspension.