Ryan Garcia revealed he was really high when he took on Devin Haney in their blockbuster fight last month—but not on the banned substance he tested positive for.
During his appearance on the Fully Tilted podcast, Garcia, 25, claimed steroids don't give fighters an advantage in the ring regarding “timing” and “skill.” He did say if he took steroids, he would've been in better shape for the fight against Haney. According to Garcia, he was out of shape because he was drinking alcohol and smoking weed every day, even on fight night.
“If I was on steroids, I would've been in way better shape,” said Garcia in the conversation below. “It was literally drinking every day, smoking weed, you know, every single day. I didn't stop, not even until the fucking day of the fight. And I got in there high as fuck, and I beat his ass. It was so easy. It was a walk in the fucking park. I had harder fights in sparring, bro. It was not hard at all.”
Garcia knocked down Haney three times in the fight and beat him by majority decision (114–110, 115–109, 112–112). The victory didn't come without its controversy which has surrounded Garcia's career over the last few months.
Last week, ESPN's Mike Coppinger reported that Garcia tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug called Ostarine the day before and the day of the fight. The outlet noted Ostarine is used to help athletes “build muscle mass and enhance their rate of fat loss and also to increase staining and recovery ability.”
Ryan Garcia said he was “high as f*ck” during the Devin Haney fight 😅 pic.twitter.com/J3xN4WSLlw
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) May 7, 2024
Garcia was given 10 days to request that the B-sample get tested. If he doesn't, or the B-sample returns a positive reading, his win over Haney will be overturned. Garcia responded to the news on social media with a profanity-laced tirade.
“I never fucking took a steroid in my fucking life. … If they had this information, they should have released this before the fight went down,” he said. “Because why would you let a cheater step into the ring? Right? All of a sudden I win and then you release it? Seems kind of fishy to me. He added, “They're cheating by trying to take my victory. Fuck them, fuck these motherfuckers, tell them to suck my dick. I beat Devin Haney fair and square, he can suck my dick. All you motherfuckers that say I cheated, you guys could all suck my dick—I didn't fucking cheat a day in my life. Never have, never fucking will.”
This article was originally published on Complex.com.
