It’s been months since former interim WBC lightweight champion Ryan Garcia was suspended for a year because of his positive Ostarine test results during the Devin Haney fight in April earlier this year. However, it appears to be still haunting the Victorville native, as SNAC nutrition founder Victor Conte, who is a convicted felon, continues to talk about Garcia’s doping scandal.
‘King Ry’ was all set to fight Japanese kickboxer Rukiya Anpo on December 30th. But a wrist injury during training put those plans on hold. Now, the fight’s pushed to early 2025. The 37-year-old is waiting to finally get the green light to fight professionally. But that has made him louder on social media.
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Conte highlighted a study from ASCO Publications. This investigated the effects of ostarine, a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM), on lean body mass (LBM) and physical performance in healthy older adults as a precursor to its use in cancer cachexia. Questioning whether Ryan Garcia and others in boxing have read the study, Conte emphasized the benefits ostarine presents in people ingesting it.
“The 1.4 lbs of Lean Body increase translated to an improvement in the stair climb test in both speed (+15.5% ± 12.9 faster time, p=0.006) and power (+25.5% ± 20.3 watts, p=0.005),” he wrote. “Does [it] seem that we should consider that a possible 15% increase in speed and 25% increase in power may help a boxer win a fight?”
Wonder if @ryangarcia and others in boxing have seen this HUMAN study of the effects of OSTRAINE on speed and power performance. The 1.4 lbs of Lean Body increase translated to an improvement in the stair climb test in both speed (+15.5% ± 12.9 faster time, p=0.006) and power…
— Victor Conte (@VictorConte) December 29, 2024
“IMO the fact that Ryan did no random drug testing for ten months and then seemed to have an increase in both speed and power in his fight with @realdevinhaney is highly suspicious,” he added. “Ryan also decided not to provide any evidence at [the] NYSAC hearing also seems suspicious.” Notably, Ryan Garcia denied the allegations of taking the banned substance on purpose, labeling the presence of Ostrine in his system on accidental ingestion from ashwagandha.
Conte alleged, “A boxer could possibly take OSTARINE for several months and then taper off before entering a random testing period and test negative.”
It’s worth mentioning that NutraBio isn’t staying quiet. Garcia’s legal team blamed them for contaminated products that supposedly led to his positive PED tests. But NutraBio fired back, making it clear they’ve never used Ostarine in their manufacturing process. Regardless, Conte then raised several questions about Garcia’s actions.
IMO there are a number of questions for @ryangarcia that boxing fans would like to receive answers 1. Why no random drug testing from Tank fight in April 2023 until Feb 20, 2024 when Ryan entered random testing with @realdevinhaney That is 10 months of no random testing. Why no…
— Victor Conte (@VictorConte) December 29, 2024
“Why no random drug testing from Tank fight in April 2023 until Feb 20, 2024, when Ryan entered random testing with @realdevinhaney,” Conte asked. “Why did Ryan allow DAZN to film him doing illegal IV the week of the fight with Devin?… Why did Ryan decide to accept a year suspension and not present his case at [the] NYSAC hearing?”
And the questions continued.“How did two separate supplements both test positive for the same prohibited substance? Did somebody from his own team possibly mix them together? What happened to all the lawsuits Ryan claimed he would file against @eddiehearn and others? Would Ryan consider enrolling in a 24/7/365 random drug testing program to show his fans that he has nothing to hide?” While only Ryan Garcia can answer these questions, his lawyers had this to say about his B-Sample testing positive.
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Ryan Garcia’s lawyers react to his positive doping test results
Ryan Garcia’s legal team issued a statement addressing his positive test for the banned substance ostarine following his April 20 fight against Devin Haney back in May after Garcia’s B-Sample also tested positive for Ostarine. They maintain that Garcia is committed to “clean and fair competition” and assert that he “has never intentionally used any banned substance.”
Garcia backed the claim by providing a hair sample to toxicology expert Dr. Pascal Kintz, which tested negative. His team argues this proves he did not ingest ostarine over time, consistent with contamination. “All of these factors, combined with his ultra-low levels from samples taken on April 19th and 20th [in the billionth of a gram range], point to Ryan being a victim of supplement contamination,” the statement read.
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It appears Ryan Garcia has some questions he needs to answer, as Victor Conte highlighted. But whether he even acknowledges the allegations is still up in the air. What do you think about Conte’s questions?
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Is Ryan Garcia's doping scandal a case of bad luck or a calculated move to gain an edge?
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