Ryan Garcia BREAKS SILENCE after being accused of CHEATING against Devin Haney | HO

After being accused of taking steroids for the Devin Haney fight, Ryan Garcia has jumped to defend himself and shut down any claims that his bout wasn’t legit.

Ryan Garcia is keen to clear his name after denying cheating accusations

Ryan Garcia is keen to clear his name after denying cheating accusations (Image: GETTY)

Ryan Garcia has denied all claims that he cheated for his fight against Devin Haney, after urine samples collected before and after their bout showed he tested positive for a banned performance enhancing drug. Results from samples taken on April 19, and immediately after his decision win over Haney on April 20, displayed traces of the PED Ostarine.

Garcia has claimed that the use of a herbal supplement may have led to his failed urine sample, and also believes that lies are being spread to deny him of his “greatest victory” as a boxer.

“My bad I shouldn’t have took this,” Garcia wrote as he posted two pictures of a bottle containing Ashwagandha Root capsules. The branding on the bottle states that it’s a stress support herbal supplement, containing 120 vegan-liquid capsules that resist stress.

The bottle does specify that the product has not been evaluated by the drugs administration, but Garcia posted a video shortly after to address the claims further. “Everybody knows that I don’t cheat… why didn’t this come out before if they found it before? Why would they let me step into the ring as a cheater?” Garcia said.

Garcia also said he “doesn’t know how to get steroids” and claimed that he doesn’t even know what they look like. A letter from the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) reportedly stated he “screened positive but was not confirmed for 19-Norandrosterone pending IRMS analysis currently being run.”

The 25-year-old has ten days to request a test for a B sample, but is convinced he will clear his name and prove he won while abiding by the rules. Garcia also posted on X concerning the VADA letter: “Why in the world would I volunteer for a drug test if I planned on taking drugs? Make it make sense?”

As he continued his rant via video, he added: “Why didn’t they come out with this before the fight … Why would they let me step into the ring as a cheater and then come out with a victory? Again, these are people that are trying to attack me for whatever reason, but no weapon against me shall prosper.”

Assuming that Garcia elects to request a test for a B sample, following his strong claims that he is innocent, the boxing world will be placed on standby as they await the results. For now, Garcia’s win has been placed in doubt, upsetting Haney’s father, Bill.

Garcia handed Haney his first career loss on April 20, and also knocked him down three times when Devin had never previously been put on the canvas. Haney’s team were respectful to Garcia after the fight due to assuming it was an even battle, but Bill Haney has slammed Ryan for hurting his son unfairly.

“You trying to hurt my baby. We played it fair,” Bill said in a phone interview with Sports Illustrated. “We didn’t do it like that… I came from the streets. You scared of Devin on a level playing field… If you can brag about doing it, you shouldn’t be on drugs.”