The controversial star responded to claims with legal threats.
Controversy follows Ryan Garcia like a shadow.
The American star has gained many detractors due to certain actions and behaviour over the last couple of years, and now an old set of teeth has come to bite him once again.
Coming in overweight for his WBC super-lightweight title fight with Devin Haney meant that the championship was no longer on the line for Garcia to win, but Garcia ended up bombing Haney to the canvas three times and winning a majority decision.
Garcia was praised for the victory. Not just for his work in the ring, but his psychological tactics beforehand, as he had seemingly purposefully acted erratically to fool Haney into thinking he wasn’t taking the fight seriously. And not only had he fooled Haney, but all of us, as well.
Well, it wasn’t long after that it was discovered that Garcia had failed two PED tests for the fight, both before and after it. The PED in question was ostarine, a banned substance that increases muscle mass and bolsters physical performance.
As a result, the greatest win of Garcia’s career was wiped from his record, and he was slapped with a one-year ban from boxing.
During this ban, Garcia made certain posts online and said certain things that angered a lot of people. Due to the nature of these statements, he was “expelled” by the WBC, but this was lifted later that same year.
In his first fight back since his ban, Garcia lost to Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero in a fight that set all-time records for some of the lowest amount of punches landed in a professional boxing match.
Despite the loss, Garcia is going straight into a title shot this month against Mario Barrios, the WBC welterweight world champion.
But of course, people do not forget so easily, and now it’s being claimed by some that Garcia is again using PEDs for his fight with Barrios.
In a post on Twitter, an account called “Respect Ring Media LLC” claimed, “Ryan Garcia and Mario Barrios are NOT on VADA’s website, in spite of Barrios’s claim that there is VADA testing for this upcoming title defence.”
This account went on to accuse Garcia of being on PEDs, to which Garcia made a reply threatening to file a lawsuit against the poster of the Tweet. Garcia then made a Tweet on his homepage where he stated, “I’ve been tested this whole camp, and I’m sure so has Mario Barrios.”
He finished the Tweet by saying that anyone claiming otherwise “will be met with legal action”.
Whether Garcia will follow through on this threat is unclear, but he was the subject of a court case himself when Devin Haney filed charges against him relating to the circumstances of their fight.
Controversy follows Ryan Garcia like a shadow.
Ryan Garcia and Mario Barrios are NOT on VADA’s website, in spite of Barrios’ claim that there is VADA testing for this upcoming title defense. Ryan is clearly taking performance enhancing drugs to have a drug advantage in the ring. He looks more like a bodybuilder than a boxer!
— Respect Ring Media LLC (@respectringnews) February 5, 2026
I wasn’t going to speak on this bc it’s ridiculous but I seen parts of the media claiming I’m not tested by Vada which is extremely untrue.
I’ve been tested this whole camp and im sure so has Mario barrios.
Anyone claiming these things will be met with legal action. Thank you
— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) February 6, 2026
Want to get the latest boxing news direct to your phone? Join our WhatsApp community by clicking here.
