Report: Ryan Garcia tests positive for banned PED

Ryan Garcia reported failed a drug test after his win against Devin Haney.

Ryan Garcia’s April 20 win over Devin Haney already came with plenty of controversy, with Garcia not bothering to make weight before the bout, and now there’s more, as Garcia’s post-fight drug tests were reportedly positive for a banned performance-enhancing drug.

Dan Rafael is reporting that Garcia tested positive for ostarine (enobosarm) in a Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA) test. The drug has been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) since 2008.

Enobosarm is the drug that Alexander Povetkin tested positive for in 2016 before a scheduled fight with Bermane Stiverne, and UFC’s Tom Lawlor was suspended two years for the drug in 2017.

The 25-year-old Garcia (25-1, 20 KO) could, in theory, have his win changed to a no-contest, but that’s no guarantee even if a positive test stands, and Garcia appealing would be the normal protocol; even when someone who fails a test knows a “B sample” will show the same result, they usually demand it, perhaps just out of prayer for a miracle that it won’t. Then again, Garcia doesn’t really do anything by normal protocol anymore, so we’ll see what happens.