Ryan Garcia Accepts One-Year Suspension, Haney Fight Ruled No-Contest

Ryan Garcia has agreed to a one-year suspension and his recent fight with Devin Haney has been officially ruled a no-contest following a settlement with the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC), according to boxing insider Dan Rafael.

As part of the settlement, Garcia will forfeit the $1.1 million contract purse back to Golden Boy Promotions, and Haney may receive a percentage of this amount. Garcia will also pay a $10,000 fine, the maximum allowed by the state. Additionally, Garcia will be subject to random drug testing throughout his suspension period.

Garcia voiced his disagreement with the settlement on social media. The fight, initially seen as a major victory for Garcia, would have marked his 24th career win. During the bout, Garcia scored three knockdowns against Haney, who was undefeated at the time.

Following Garcia’s majority decision win, reports surfaced that he had tested positive for the performance-enhancing substance ostarine both before and after the fight. His B-sample also returned a positive result for the banned substance.

In response to the allegations, Garcia denied any wrongdoing, stating, “Everybody knows that I don’t cheat.” His attorneys supported this claim, suggesting he was a victim of “supplement contamination.” In a statement released by USA Today’s Josh Peter, Garcia’s legal team asserted, “This confirms what we have consistently maintained: Ryan was a victim of supplement contamination and has never intentionally used any banned or performance-enhancing substances. Any claims to the contrary, questioning Ryan’s integrity as a clean fighter, are unequivocally false and defamatory.”

On Wednesday, Garcia announced his retirement on X (formerly Twitter). Whether this retirement will be permanent remains uncertain, but the 25-year-old will be out of the ring for at least a year due to the suspension.