NEW YORK (AP) — Ryan Garcia denied using performance-enhancing drugs in a video posted on social media Wednesday night after ESPN reported that he had tested positive for a banned substance.
Garcia defeated Devin Haney, a former amateur rival, by majority decision on April 20 in New York. Garcia knocked Haney down three times and handed the WBC super lightweight champion his first loss but did not win the title because he was over the weight limit.
“Everybody knows that I don’t cheat,” Garcia said in a video posted on X. “Never taken a steroid ... I don’t even know where to get steroids. ... I barely take supplements. Big lies.”
ESPN reported that the 25-year-old Garcia tested positive for the performance-enhancing substance Ostarine the day before and the day of the fight, citing a Voluntary Anti-Doping Association letter. Ostarine is a selective androgen receptor modulator, and its use can stimulate muscle growth. The drug is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
The samples were taken before the fight, but the results weren't known until later, ESPN reported.
“We learned about this situation not too long ago and it's unfortunate Ryan cheated and disrespected both the fans and the sport of boxing by fighting dirty and breaking positive not once, but twice,” Haney said in a statement to ESPN, adding: “This puts the fight in a completely different light.”
Garcia's victory could be overturned if the positive drug test is confirmed.
AP boxing: https://apnews.com/hub/boxing
Ryan Garcia, left, punches Devin Haney during the first round of a super lightweight boxing match early Sunday, April 21, 2024, in New York. Garcia won the fight. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Ryan Garcia, right, knocks down Devin Haney during the 10th round of a super lightweight boxing match early Sunday, April 21, 2024, in New York. Garcia won the fight. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
May 10-16, 2024
People took part in the Piu Sik Parade at the Bun Festival in Hong Kong, Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump attended his trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, Haitian school children played a game where they pretend to sleep, in their classroom, in Port-au-Prince.
This photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images from around the world made or published by The Associated Press in the past week.
The selection was curated by AP photo editor Subramoney Iyer in New Delhi.
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Handler Willy Santiago competes with Afghan Hound Zaida during breed group judging at the 148th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Monday, May 13, 2024, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
A bird flies past the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge resting on the container ship Dali on Sunday, May 12, 2024, in Baltimore, as seen from Riviera Beach, Md. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Participants perform as they attend the jumping fitness during Seoul Heath Show at Seoul Plaza in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin look toward each other as they shake hands prior to their talks in Beijing, China, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Sergei Bobylev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Class of 2027 plebes climb during the Herndon Monument Climb to celebrate finishing their first year at the U.S. Naval Academy, Wednesday, May 15, 2024, in Annapolis, Md. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)
Palestinian Fayrouz Safi cries while she takes the last look at the body of her son Aysar Safi, 20, who was killed during clashes with Israeli forces during his funeral in the West Bank refugee camp of Jalazoun, north of Ramallah Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Malians take part in the annual re-plastering of the world's largest mud-brick building, the Great Mosque of Djenne, Mali, Sunday, May 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Moustapha Diallo)
A paratrooper carries a snake before marching in the 113th Independence Day parade in Asuncion, Paraguay, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
Sailors of the U.S. navy aircraft carriers USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) man the rails at the U.S. navy's Yokosuka base before the ship's final departure from Yokosuka before transiting back to the United States,Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo.(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Students play a game where they pretend to sleep, in their classroom at the United States National Republic School, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump attends his trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York on Monday, May 13, 2024. (Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool)
Supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gather to greet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a roadshow campaign for the elections in Varanasi, India, Monday, May 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar)
Vehicles are partially submerged on a street flooded by heavy rains in Sao Leopoldo, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Saturday, May 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Burnt cars are lined up after unrest that erupted following protests over voting reforms in Noumea, New Caledonia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Nicolas Job)
Liudmila, 85, whose husband was killed in their house after a Russian airstrike looks though the window of a bus after being evacuated from Vovchansk, Ukraine, Sunday, May 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Buddhist monks wait for a lantern parade ahead of the upcoming birthday of Buddha at Dongguk University in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, May 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A woman touches a picture of a relative as she attends the celebrations of the Israel's annual Memorial Day for the fallen soldiers, at the site where revelers were killed and kidnapped on Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas militants near the Kibbutz Reim, southern Israel, Monday, May 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Houses sit on the slopes of the Jalousie neighborhood in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, May 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A child is hoisted up as participants take part in the Piu Sik Parade at the Bun Festival in Cheung Chau Island in Hong Kong, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)
A woman plays with her dog at a beach on the Gulf of Finland as the sun sets, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
