Six weeks on from Ryan Garcia’s victory over Devin Haney and ‘King Ry’ continues to dominate the headlines for all of the wrong reasons, with a positive drugs test tainting the win and the saga that has followed only further staining both Garcia’s reputation in the sport and the reputation of boxing as a whole.
Garcia upset the odds with an extremely impressive triumph over the undefeated WBC champion back in April, although in the days that followed it was revealed that Ostarine had been found in his system both on the day of the weigh-in and on the day of the fight.
Ever since, the speedy 25-year-old has pleaded his innocence, believing that the adverse findings were the result of a conspiracy against him – whether that be from the governing bodies or closer to home.
Despite news of a positive B-sample and Victor Conte’s confusion at the provision of the supplement at question, Garcia is yet to receive an official ban but it seems that a verdict is imminent. Now, the WBC has requested additional information from the American superstar, which they believe will be received by the end of the month.
“Upon receiving the notification of the Adverse Findings, the WBC immediately started its Results Management Process under the governing WBC CBP’s Testing and Results Management Guidelines.
“Under that process, the WBC notified Mr. Garcia of the adverse findings, provided him with information about his right to witness the opening of the ‘B’ sample container, and to have the contents of the ‘B’ sample container tested. The ‘B’ sample containers’ contents also yielded adverse analytical findings for Ostarine.
“In addition, the WBC’s Result Management Unit’s notification to Mr. Garcia requested available information and/or documents to assist the Unit’s determination of the circumstances leading or reasonably related to the adverse findings. The WBC Results Management Unit anticipates receiving the available information requested toward the end of June.
“In the meantime, the WBC has continued to investigate the pharmacological characteristics of Ostarine, the details of the tests’ results that led to the adverse findings, and any other explanation that might relate to the adverse findings.
“The WBC will continue to provide updates of the process it is undertaking as additional information becomes available.”
Should Ryan Garcia be proven not guilty of any intentional ingestion and swerve a ban, he has confirmed that his days in the super-lightweight division are over, assumingly making the switch to welterweight when he returns to ring.
However, Garcia has also declared that he may skip the 147lb scene when outlining his ambitions of taking on the 6’5” unified super-welterweight champion Sebastian Fundora.
For now, that opportunity may not be available as Errol Spence Jr. is expected to make his 154lb debut against ‘The Towering Inferno’ instead, but a fight between Garcia and the victor of that bout would be one that would undoubtedly capture the interest of fans in the United States.
Boxing Social is now on WhatsApp! Join our channel by clicking here and getting all the latest boxing news direct to your phone.