Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney are like a constant infection: irritating, disgusting, maddening. They were dormant for a time but never completely disappeared. If they don’t recover, any sense of relief we may have will only be short-lived.
Now Garcia and Haney are back on the scene — though not back yet. This latest case has the potential to develop into something as serious as the first, perhaps even more serious.
That’s largely because of Garcia. He is constantly seeking attention on social media. He said a lot of wrong things. He did a lot of wrong things. Always believe that he is never wrong. And he is always the one who is wronged. There are legitimate doubts about Garcia’s mental health and whether the fight will go ahead, or even whether it should go ahead.
He successfully weighed in—even though Garcia was several pounds overweight, seemingly on purpose.
He eventually made it to the ring—even though the match itself was a mess. Dramatic, yes, but a mess. A car accident turns us all into rubber bands.
Garcia won a majority decision and that could have been it. We could have moved on and put this all behind us as yet another regrettable episode in a sport full of regrets. Then more episodes followed, making the miniseries longer than expected. There will be a second season soon.
So much happened that it would be impossible to list them all, even if someone could remember them all. Here are some of the highlights, or rather lows:
Garcia tested positive for a banned drug called ostarine, which helps athletes lose weight without losing muscle mass.
Garcia tried to prevail in the court of public opinion, although the only ruling that mattered came from the New York State Athletic Commission.
Garcia said it was unlikely his test would be positive given his previous negative test results. But test results can depend on what was taken, when it was taken, how much of the substance was taken, when the test was done, and when the substances were released into the blood and urine after having the desired effect elsewhere in the body.
Garcia later disputed the rest of his argument, saying he took a contaminated supplement. But this was not confirmed because his team failed to follow standard protocols. Instead of sending sealed refills from the same batch that Garcia used, they sent open versions that may have been tampered with. It didn’t help his case. It didn’t help his case either. That’s because Garcia never disclosed to the athletic commission that he was using supplements – a disclosure required by law.
Garcia sought to blame the positive test on the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, which organized additional drug testing for Haney-Garcia on top of the committee’s testing, a service VADA often provides for major competitions. Garcia tried to connect Victor Conte to VADA. Conte infamously helped athletes such as Barry Bonds, Shane Mosley and Marion Jones cheat by doping two decades ago. Today, Conte works with Haney and other athletes as a nutrition, strength and conditioning consultant. Conte is also a strong supporter of VADA and helped educate VADA’s founders about drug testing, but he has no role in VADA.
Two months after the fight, on June 20, Garcia accepted a settlement agreement with the Athletic Commission. He was suspended for one year, starting on April 20, 2024. He was fined $10,000 and had his seven-figure fight night winnings forfeited back to his promoter, Golden Boy Promotions. His victory over Haney was also overturned.
(Some people have misread and misunderstood NYSAC’s consent decree. Garcia was punished for more than just failing to disclose his supplements. Rather, the consent decree states that Garcia’s failure to disclose supplements made any belief that the positive test was not The arguments that he is wrong are meaningless.)
Meanwhile, Garcia continued to get himself into trouble.
He was arrested in June and charged with causing serious damage to his hotel room; charges were drops after a few months Once Garcia paid for the hotel’s repairs.
In July, he was heavily criticized for making racist and Islamophobic comments, and later said he would enter rehab for substance abuse issues and seek professional help for mental health issues.
Recovery and therapy can be personal and private matters. If he agrees with them, he hasn’t spoken publicly about it.
This time can be a time of growth, recovery, and reform. This is not the case. Garcia never fully admitted his fault or truly took responsibility for his actions.
It didn’t help that the punishment proved insufficient.
Yes, the layoff was longer than many other fighters in the United States. And the loss of paydays—the April payday and any other payday after that—is not insignificant. But has it been a deterrent? Many boxers, whether by choice or circumstance, are now taking extended breaks from the ring. Garcia never planned on not boxing for an entire year.
In November, Garcia announced that he would participate in an exhibition match in Japan in December, essentially circumventing the intention of being suspended. (That exhibition game was canceled when Golden Boy said the fight wasn’t over yet. Then Garcia was injured in practice and has since had wrist surgery.)
Now, it’s only about nine months since the Garcia-Haney fight, only about seven months since the NYSAC settlement, about a month since the exhibition was canceled, and about three months until the suspension ends.
The layoff isn’t over yet, but Garcia is working hard to come back — and this return feels like a bonus.
Because of everything that happened in 2024, Garcia’s comeback in 2025 will be even bigger. No wonder Haney signed on. Yes, he wanted to avenge his (overthrown) loss. But it’s also about earnings. Money is almost always a primary motivator. Interest almost always trumps principle.
After all, Haney accepted the $600,000 fine paid by Garcia to continue participating in last year’s fight after Garcia became overweight. But the fight took its toll on Haney. His defensive disadvantages were evident as he stumbled and fell multiple times. Honey’s chin is not only fragile, but defective. He might get caught. He may get hurt. Yes, Garcia has the advantages that come with not making weight and using Ostarin. None of this takes away from the literal damage Haney suffered in the fight and the lingering symbolic damage that followed.
It’s no surprise that Haney sued Garcia. Haney still hasn’t done himself any favors with his career choice. He himself has yet to return to the ring. He has yet to score any wins to begin rebuilding his reputation. He chose not to continue his fight with Sandor Martin. He gave up what leverage he had left: Given Garcia’s excess weight, the WBC gave the world title back to Haney. Haney later vacated the belt and was named the “resting champion” by the sanctioning body.
Haney received a lot of criticism for the lawsuit. This lawsuit is not unprecedented. While there’s absolutely no direct resemblance, Deontay Wilder won a lawsuit after his fight with Alexander Povetkin was called off after Povetkin tested positive for a doping agent. Some boxing fans want Haney to accept defeat and move on. But the commission’s punishment was clearly not enough to stop boxers from cheating. The threat of civil litigation – the cost of self-defense and the possibility of paying further damages – may help deter this behavior.
The lawsuit is now on hold. Haney may have thought he would get more money by facing Garcia again than by continuing the suit without a rematch – which would only happen if he dropped the suit.
No one seems to have learned from last year’s debacle. Or maybe the wrong lessons were learned.
“That’s really weird, why is it always VADA. Can we find some other organization to test it with?” Posted by Garcia on X.
Given that VADA is the organization that caught Garcia cheating, and has caught many other fighters cheating, it’s no surprise that Haney would want to work with them again. It’s no surprise that Garcia doesn’t want that. He sounded like a kid who was sorry for getting caught but not sorry for what they did.
Anyone fighting Garcia — and anyone fighting in general — should adhere to strict testing protocols.
Alas, drug testing remains a cat-and-mouse game in which the mice are given various strategic advantages. Passing a drug test often depends on a person’s IQ and resources.
Most drug testing doesn’t begin until a few months before the competition at most. The frequency and level of testing – which little is done except by athletic commissions – may depend on how much money fighters and promoters provide for it. Even the UFC’s drug testing protocol has its own flaws and loopholes, requiring fighters to spend six months in its drug testing pool before being allowed into the cage.
When an opposing fighter tests positive, those boxing promoters pour fire and brimstone and they fight tooth and nail to defend their fighter in order to get their fighter added to their roster. Profit over principle. Don’t expect the Golden Boy (or anyone else) to follow the Golden Rule.
Anyone fighting Garcia should insist that there will be harsher financial penalties if he fails to make weight. Given that he was over 143 pounds for his first Haney fight and was at 143 pounds for his contract-allowed December 2023 win over Oscar Duarte, it’s doubtful he’ll be able to make it to 140 again.
As for Haney, even though he’s been working hard in the gym, he hasn’t tried to make defensive fixes on fight night against a top-tier opponent willing and able to put those fixes to the test. Haney also hasn’t seen how he fares at the welterweight limit. That’s what Haney will have to do in any interim fight before his rematch with Garcia. He could have given himself more time to adapt and adjust over the past nine months. He didn’t.
Haney Garcia’s first fight was bad enough. If a second battle does occur, all the ugly events that have occurred since will be repeated. We would eat it all with popcorn in hand. This fight will be a sensation. Fighters will receive large sums of money.
Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney are like persistent infections. We are the ones helping them spread the virus.
