Ryan Garcia has had a tumultuous few weeks and now the American fighter has made a huge decision over the failed drug test he returned before and after his fight with Devin Haney back in April.
Garcia stunned the world by beating the odds and overcoming Haney in their fight at the Barclay Centre in Brooklyn. Garcia failed to make weight ahead of the contest, which he later claimed was an intentional move, and came on strong during the fight.
He put down the WBC super lightweight champion Haney three times, and although he took the win, Garcia was ineligible to claim his maiden world title because of coming in over the official limit for the contest.
Just days after, it was revealed that he tested positive for Ostarine, which attaches to proteins in the body and signals muscles to grow and is used in order to retain muscle mass while also increasing the rate of fat loss, amongst other things.
After the news broke, Garcia initially denied the claims and has now officially requested that his B-sample be tested, per a letter seen by ESPN.
Garcia’s attorney, Darin Chavez, has said that the sample will be opened and analysed on May 22nd and that he will be a witness to it, while many others in the sport have already had their say.
In a new letter sent by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, Garcai’s A-test also came back positive for 19-Norandrosterone but a further investigation has shown that it wasn’t present in his system. Chavez has since used this as evidence that Garcia has gained no benefit from the drugs being in his system.
“This is proof we are dealing only with a known supplement contaminant in the billionth of a gram range that provided Ryan Garcia with no performance-enhancing benefit whatsoever on fight night. We now wait for B-sample testing on the presence of low-level Ostarine only on May 22. He was negative 17 days before.”
Garcia has taken to social media to suggest that the results are because of the presence of ashwagandha root, which led the manufacturer of the supplement, Gaia Herbs, to release their own statement which said that “contrary to any recent confusion [it] doesn’t contain Ostarine.”
Should Garcia eventually be found guilty, he faces suspension, fines and might even have his decision win over Haney overturned as The New York State Athletic Commission has told ESP that it “is in communication with VADA and is reviewing the matter.”
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