Ryan Garcia Testing Positive For PEDs Only Scratches The Surface

The fans aren’t surprised as everything surrounding the fight has been jaw-dropping, from Garcia “acting crazy” to admitting he was drinking every day during training camp. Garcia also made his backers money as he was up to a 9-1 underdog. The surprise would have been if he didn’t pop for PEDs.

With that being said, there is a slice of controversy in all of this involving the positive results from VADA. Victor Conte, who was part of the PED scandal with Major League Baseball years ago, is closely associated with Dr. Margaret Goodman, who is the founder of the VADA program. Conte also owns SNAC, a company that sells nutrition products to athletes, and he sponsors Haney. That’s where things get murky as it leaves a door cracked for the testing to be scrutinized by those looking from the outside. There were also rumors spreading that the results were known before the fight, and if Haney knew but went through with it anyway, then that has to be called out as well.

Garcia isn’t the only fighter to question VADA and their testing. Boxing hall of famer Andre Ward did the same in 2013 when he was asked to undergo VADA testing before facing Edwin Rodriguez. Here is an excerpt from a story on Boxing Scene in 2013.

“[Random drug testing is] something I believe in. It’s something that I feel fighters should do, but at the same time I have to do my due diligence and do my homework. Just because it’s the latest and greatest thing doesn’t mean I’m going to jump head first in. I’m not an idiot. That’s [Victor] Conte’s fighter. He’s also set up the protocol and everything else for VADA. So you don’t think that’s a conflict of interest? That you want to sponsor me and all of a sudden you guys are pushing this VADA situation?” fired Ward.

Garcia posted a video claiming that he hadn’t taken anything illegal and that the next few days would show the test results weren’t true. Golden Boy Promotions immediately put out a press release in support of their fighter.

“Ryan has put out multiple statements denying knowingly using any banned substances — and we believe him. We are working with his team to determine how this finding came to be and will address this further once we conclude that process.” – Golden Boy

So the question now becomes, what happens next? It will be up to Garcia to put together a solid case that can be backed up to prove he did not take PEDs. For now, you will likely see fighters bashing Garcia and theories of what happened circulating all over social media. Is this the start of the promotion for the rematch? I wouldn’t be surprised if it is; if so, it will stay within the theme of the first fight’s promotion.