Devin Haney has restored the coveted undefeated status in his professional boxing record.
The 25-year-old boxer reclaimed his unblemished record following his bout against Ryan Garcia, initially a majority decision loss that was later overturned to a no contest by the New York State Athletic Commission due to Garcia testing positive multiple times for the performance-enhancing drug, ostarine.
"I want to thank the commission and the fans who stood by me during this whole process. The facts are the facts and I wasn't on an even playing field. Happy I was able to receive justice for what happened," Haney told ESPN following the verdict on Thursday, June 20.
The two fighters squared off last April 20 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, in a 12-round bout that saw Haney knocked down three times.
The judges' scorecards resulted in a majority decision victory for Garcia, with Eric Marlinski scoring it 114-110 and Robin Taylor 115-109 in favor of Garcia, while Max DeLuca scored it a 112-112 draw.
Ryan Garcia receives suspension and fine
Meanwhile, aside from the overturned result of arguably the biggest win of his career, the New York State Athletic Commission has suspended Garcia for one year.
The 25-year-old will also forfeit $1 million in earnings to Golden Boy Promotions and pay a $10,000 fine.
Garcia's team released a statement asserting that the boxer never voluntarily took a banned substance.
"Ryan Garcia was a victim of substance contamination, with levels measured in the billions and trillions of a gram, which provided no advantage whatsoever in the ring," the statement read.
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