Eddie Hearn feels a certain way about Ryan Garcia testing positive for Ostarine one day before and on the day of the fight against Devin Haney. ‘King Ry’ has been suspended for a year, till 20th April 2025, and has to pay a $1.2 million penalty of his purse split to Golden Boy Promotions plus $10,000 to the New York State Athletic Commission, based on the deal made by Garcia’s attorneys and the NYSAC. 

Not to forget, his win over Haney has also been ruled a no-contest by the NYSAC, thereby reinstating Devin Haney’s undefeated record! This apparently made complete sense to Hearn, while he was speaking to a reporter from IFL TV. However, when the reporter questioned whether such decisions were taken enough in doping cases, Hearn highlighted how unusual Garcia’s case was.

The timing doesn’t sit well with Eddie Hearn

In his reply to the reporter, Hearn said “No”, such decisions aren’t taken enough “but it’s quite unusual for a fighter to test positive just before the fight”. The head of Matchroom highlighted fighters often test positive during their training camp, which ensures the fight never happens. He further elaborated, saying he has seen another fight ruled a no contest by the NYSAC, meaning “They do that quite a lot and I think if you think about it logically, it is right”, said Hearn.

In 2016, Australian heavyweight Lucas Browne tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol in both his A and B samples, and it was later revealed that he also tested positive for ostarine. All this came out after he had defeated Ruslan Chagaev via a sensational 10th-round knockout. Just like Garcia, Browne was suspended for 6 months (unlike Garcia who got 1 year), and his win was overturned to a no-contest. 

Since VADA was involved in the testing of the Browne fight as well, the consequences for Garcia and Browne are almost similar. The only difference was that instead of the NYSAC, it was the WBA that ruled on Browne’s fate. Regardless, Garcia’s team released a statement after the suspension was handed to Garcia.

Ryan Garcia’s team says he didn’t take PEDs intentionally 

Much like any boxer after they are handed a suspension, Garcia’s team said in a statement provided to ESPN, “Ryan, with his legal team, has resolved this issue and firmly maintains his truth: he never intentionally took any banned substance.” They further added that cheating or dipping is simply not in Garcia’s nature and the fight against Haney will always be remembered as a masterclass.

When Garcia does come back in April next year, he needs to produce clean urine samples to get his license reinstated. This year-long layoff will be his second longest break from boxing, having taken a 15-month hiatus from the sport after withdrawing from the Javier Fortuna fight in July 2021 to address his mental health. Garcia had later canceled his fight against Joseph Diaz Jr. for hand surgery, making it his longest layoff to date.

Unusual or not, Ryan Garcia has to enjoy boxing from the sidelines at least for a year. After that, who knows? Maybe there will be a rematch against Devin Haney! Would you like to see a rematch between them?