Ryan Garcia’s promoters at Golden Boy have put out a statement following his positive tests for banned PEDs that surfaced today for his fight against Devin Haney on April 20th. Golden Boy confirms that they believe what Ryan says about his not having used the substances.
Golden Boy’s statement says they’ll work with their team to determine what caused the positive tests.
Ryan insists he didn’t take anything, and he feels someone is out to get him for whatever reason to tarnish his 12-round majority decision win over the previously unbeaten Haney.
Statement of Support
“Ryan has put out multiple statements denying knowingly using any banned substances — and we believe him. We are working with his team to determine how this finding came to be and will address this further once we conclude that process.” – Golden Boy
Depending on how things go with the investigation of Ryan, it can play out in one of two ways potentially:
- Cleared
- Suspension and sanctions: If there’s no cause found, Ryan could potentially have his win over Haney taken away. Suspension and fine are possibilities.
Damage to Reputation
No matter how the investigation plays out, it’s going to damage Ryan’s reputation because some boxing fans are going to believe the worst. They’ll assume Ryan was guilty, and view his upset win over Haney being aided with the help of PEDs.
That’s the real negative. Even if Ryan can prove he didn’t knowingly take anything, some people are going to view him as a cheater. It may follow Ryan for a while.
Ryan says he’s not going to give Haney a rematch, but he may have to for him to make people believe he’s legitimately a better fighter than him. A second fight probably won’t sell as good as the first because a lot of fans will be thinking about Ryan’s positive tests.
If Ryan doesn’t care what people think, he can forget about Haney and go fight whoever, assuming he’s not suspended for six months or however long. Fighting Haney again would be a disappointment for Ryan.
In the rematch, Haney will likely fight defensively, like he’d done in his wins over Regis Prograis and George Kambosos, by using a lot of holding, moving, and jabbing to neutralize Ryan’s offense.
