In a new development regarding the Ryan Garcia drug testing scandal after his April fight with Devin Haney, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) has stated that Garcia’s sample did not confirm the presence of the banned substance nandrolone.
The VADA Report According to reporting by ESPN’s Dan Rafael, VADA has completed additional testing on Garcia’s urine sample from April 19th, the day of his win over Haney. While the initial test detected ostarine, a prohibited performance-enhancing drug, it also flagged a potential presence of 19-norandrosterone, a metabolite of nandrolone.
However, Rafael obtained a lab report from VADA stating “it did not confirm” the presence of 19-norandrosterone after further analysis of the sample. This means Garcia did not fail a third drug test for the Haney bout in addition to his admitted ostarine positive.
Garcia Proclaims Innocence Upon hearing the news, the 24-year-old boxer took to social media, tweeting “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.”
Garcia has been adamant about only testing positive for ostarine at an extremely low level that he claims could not have enhanced his performance against Haney. He has vehemently denied intentionally using banned substances.
Uncertainty Remains While the VADA report clears up the nandrolone aspect, many questions still surround Garcia’s ostarine positive test and what sanctioning body will handle the case moving forward.
Haney has demanded both a rematch and answers regarding his adversary’s failed test. But the timeline and process to potentially overturn the result, strip Garcia of his titles, or order a sequel fight remains unclear amidst the developing controversy.
As new details emerge, boxing fans remain invested in getting complete resolution over allegations that have tainted Garcia’s career-defining victory over Haney. The situation is likely far from concluded despite VADA closing the door on one element of the complicated drug testing scandal.
