Ryan Garcia has addressed recent allegations of steroid use during his fight against Devin Haney. The controversy arose after a urine sample taken on April 19 indicated traces of Ostarine, but further tests refuted any presence of the banned performance-enhancing drug 19-Norandrosterone.
The initial positive test for Ostarine prompted scrutiny by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA), with banned substances in question since 2008. Sports journalist Dan Rafael revealed on X that further testing proved Garcia free from 19-Norandrosterone, stating, "Urine sample @RyanGarcia provided April 19 that was positive for Ostarine but also showed banned PED 19-Norandrosterone needed more testing to confirm. That’s done. Per lab report sent to VADA, which I’ve obtained, it ‘did not confirm.’ THERE IS NO 3rd test failure."
In response to these developments, Garcia took to social media to defend himself. He downplayed the effects of the detected levels of Ostarine and criticized the handling of his case, saying, "So y'all realize I didn’t fail the tests now. No substance other than this imaginary ostrich substance… level so low wouldn’t have any effect. THEY TRIED BUT NO LIE STANDS PRAISE GOD".
During an episode of the Fully Tilted podcast, Ryan candidly discussed his physical condition during the fight and denied any performance benefits from steroids. He confessed to using alcohol and marijuana up until the day of the match: "It doesn’t even give you an advantage. What advantage does it give you? Steroids is not going to help you with skill, timing. If I was on steroids, I would have been in way better shape," Garcia explained. "I was literally drinking every day, smoking weed – I did not stop, not even until the f***ng day of the fight. I got in there high as f***, and I beat his a**."
