The fall out from Ryan Garcia‘s performance-enhancing drug ban for results obtained around the time of his fight with Devin Haney continues.
Garcia weighed in 3 pounds over the limit for his fight against WBC Super-Lightweight titleholder Haney, making him ineligible for the belt. Despite that, he won, knocking the champion down three times on the way to a majority decision.
In the weeks following it was revealed Garcia had twice tested positive for banned substance Ostarine, once on the day of the weigh-in and again on the day of the fight. The New York State Athletic Commission has since banned him from the sport for a year – backdated to the fight date of April 20 – fined him a portion of his purse and overturned the result to a no contest.
Responding to the news, the WBC’s President Mauricio Sulaiman, who promotes that sanctioning body’s Clean Boxing Programme, took to social media to offer Garcia his support.
“Many are asking how will the WBC punish Ryan Garcia. We don’t care to punish him. We want to help Ryan, the human being, he is suffering, going through difficulties . This not a matter of boxing, Ryan needs immediate support and attention NOW. Champ we are here for you.”
Garcia’s erratic behaviour in the build-up to the fight and in the wake of this news has worried some fans.
Haney – who said he would like a clean rematch once the suspension is up – shared Sulaiman’s statement and called it pathetic, seemingly not feeling as appreciated for his own struggle.
“WBC called a purse bid while I was going through damages of being cheated… This is pathetic!”
Sulaiman later released a gushing article to ‘dearest’ Haney, covering the Garcia saga briefly and calling him a personal friend.
