The sport has been in a whirlwind since the Devin Haney–Ryan Garcia fight week, spurred on by the latter producing a shock win and then testing positive for a banned substance.
Garcia’s decision victory – coming after three knockdowns scored – has been tainted by the news that the he tested positive for Ostarine on 19 April and again in the hours after the fight. The results were delivered to the teams and commission on May 1.
Despite Garcia claiming innocence through corruption, his B Sample will be tested and the fight is expected to be overturned to a No Contest by many.
Haney – who remains WBC Champion since Garcia came in 3lbs over weight – wants to go further. On behalf of the fighter, a team of lawyers contacted the New York State Athletic Commission to make a case for a DQ loss on Garcia’s record. The correspondence was obtained by The Ring Magazine.
“[Ostarine] is specifically listed as a prohibited performance enhancing drug on the Commission [website]. An IV is expressly prohibited. Intentionally coming in overweight is a violation.”
“In this context the Commission has full authority to issue a disqualification. That would change the bout to a win for Mr. Haney by disqualification. On behalf of Mr. Haney, we request that change in addition to such suspension as deemed appropriate by the Commission.”
“[In] addition to the PED use and prohibited use of IV’s after the bout Mr. Garcia admitted that missing weight was a tactic to give him an unfair advantage. As there was no second day weigh in required by the Commission, thus it is impossible to know what he weighed on fight night. This is why, after setting forth the facts below we request that Mr. Garcia be disqualified, which is more fitting than a no contest in this situation.”
No decision will be made until the B Sample results have been tested and verified.
