Promoter Eddie Hearn wants a lifetime ban for Ryan Garcia if he’s found to have intentionally used performance enhancing drugs [PEDs] for his fight against Devin Haney on April 20th.
Hearn’s Stance on PEDs
Hearn says he “really hopes” Ryan (25-1, 20 KOs) didn’t intentionally take PEDs to aid his performance against his fighter WBC light welterweight champion Haney (31-1, 15 KOs), but if he did, he should “never be allowed to fight again.” Ryan tested positive for the banned substance Ostarine for two of his bests on April 19th and 20th
That’s a pretty strict stance that Hearn has for Ryan, who arguably ruined Haney’s chance for superstardom by dominating him in a 12-round majority decision, knocking him down three times in their fight at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Ryan beat the living daylights out of Haney, battering him around the ring, forcing him to clinch nonstop from round seven on. If not for the referee choosing not to deduct points from Haney for his excessive holding, Ryan would have likely stopped him.
Some boxing fans might view Hearn’s call for a lifetime ban for Ryan hypocritical, as he’s not holding his own fighter Conor Benn to the same standards after his positive tests for a PED.
Too Little, Too Late
“He entered the ring with performance enhancing drugs in his system, and now he has to prove he didn’t take them intentionally,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to the media today, talking about Ryan Garcia’s two positive tests for PEDs last April before his fight against Devin Haney.
Hearn wants Haney’s loss to be ruled a no contest to remove the blemish from his record, to return him to the pristine gleaming state that it was before the horror that took place last April.
I don’t know if it matters. The horse is already out of the barn, and the fans already witnessed what happened to Haney. It doesn’t matter if the loss is magically erased. Hearn can scrub the record books, but it won’t help. Haney’s reputation took a hit.
The only thing fans will remember is Haney being dropped repeatedly, resembling a basketball being dribbled by Ryan. It was just so easy for Kingry.
“If he didn’t take them intentionally, I feel really sorry for him and I hope innocence prevails. If he did take them intentionally and he cheated, that’s another story and he should arguably never be able to fight again…You see clips of him with IV drips, it ain’t a good look,” said Hearn about Ryan Garcia.
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