The 30-second version
- ✓Ryan Garcia beat Devin Haney by majority decision on April 20, 2024, but the result was overturned to a no contest after Garcia tested positive for Ostarine.
- ✓The New York State Athletic Commission suspended Garcia one year and ordered him to forfeit $1 million in purse money to Golden Boy Promotions.
- ✓The no-contest ruling restored Haney's record to unbeaten on paper, even though he was beaten on the scorecards that night.
- ✓Haney has since moved up two weight classes, becoming a three-division champion and winning the WBO welterweight title over Brian Norman Jr. in November 2025.
- ✓The result remains genuinely unusual in boxing: a fighter who lost a decision carries a technically perfect record because of his opponent's failed drug test.
● The short answer
On April 20, 2024, Ryan Garcia defeated Devin Haney by majority decision in a junior welterweight bout. The result didn't stand: Garcia tested positive for the banned substance Ostarine in samples taken before and on fight night, and the New York State Athletic Commission overturned the result to a no contest, restoring Haney's record to unbeaten on paper. Garcia was suspended one year and forfeited $1 million in purse money. Haney (now 33-0, 15 KOs) has since moved up two weight classes, becoming WBO welterweight champion with a win over Brian Norman Jr. in November 2025, but the strange, unresolved nature of the Garcia result still follows his record into every conversation about his legacy.
Boxing records are supposed to be simple: win, lose, draw. Devin Haney's has an asterisk that isn't really his fault, and isn't really a win either, a genuinely strange chapter that still shapes how his career gets discussed.
What happened in the ring
On April 20, 2024, Ryan Garcia beat Devin Haney by majority decision, dropping him three times across 12 rounds in one of the biggest upsets of that year. By the numbers that night, it was a clean, decisive win for Garcia.
What happened in the lab
Within days, reports surfaced that Garcia had failed a drug test, with samples taken both the day before and the day of the fight coming back positive for Ostarine, a banned performance-enhancing substance. Garcia publicly denied the allegations. The New York State Athletic Commission didn't agree: it overturned the result to a no contest, suspended Garcia for one year, and ordered him to forfeit $1 million in purse money to Golden Boy Promotions.
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The strange math of a "no contest"
Here's the part that still generates arguments: a no contest isn't a win for Haney. It simply erases the result. But because Haney's record had no official loss before that night, the no-contest ruling left his career mark technically unbeaten, even though anyone who watched the fight saw him dropped three times and beaten on the cards. It's a technically accurate, emotionally unsatisfying way for a boxing record to read.
What Haney did with the chapter that followed
Rather than relitigate the Garcia fight indefinitely, Haney moved on, and up. He's since added two more weight classes to his résumé, becoming WBO welterweight champion with a unanimous decision over Brian Norman Jr. in November 2025, a result nobody disputes. At 33-0 across three divisions, his in-ring case has only gotten stronger since the Garcia night.
Why the asterisk never fully disappears
Boxing fans have long memories, and a fight this public doesn't get forgotten because a commission changed the official paperwork. For as long as Haney's career gets discussed, the Garcia result will come up, not as a loss, officially, but as the one night his "unbeaten" record required an entire explanatory paragraph to actually mean what it says.
A technically perfect record, and a night everyone remembers as anything but a win. That's the strange legacy of boxing's most consequential failed drug test.
See Devin Haney's full tale of the tape, including his official record and title history.
FAQ
What happened with Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney's fight?+
Garcia won by majority decision on April 20, 2024, but later tested positive for Ostarine, a banned substance, in samples from before and on the day of the fight. The New York State Athletic Commission overturned the result to a no contest.
Is Devin Haney still unbeaten?+
On paper, yes: 33-0. The Garcia fight, which he lost on the scorecards, was ruled a no contest rather than a loss once Garcia's failed drug test was confirmed.
What title does Devin Haney hold now?+
The WBO welterweight title, won with a unanimous decision over Brian Norman Jr. in November 2025, making him a three-division world champion.
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