Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya launched a tirade towards Devin Haney for a video the fighter made roughly a week ago where he danced in celebration to Ryan Garcia’s suspension by the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) for failing two tests of the performance-enhancing drug (PED) of Ostarine. In a video De La Hoya released on his Instagram, the promoter also scathed Haney for his complaints regarding lack of pay, blatantly ignoring that Garcia had actually started these complaints himself earlier this month.
There appears to be some purposeful misdirection on Oscar De La Hoya’s part to drive attention away from Ryan Garcia (24-1, 20 KO’s) and his suspension by NYSAC, preferring instead to gaslight Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KO’s) for statements he made in the recent past.
“Alright guys, we talked about Ryan Garcia; now it’s papi’s [my] turn. So, first of all, I don’t condone PEDs, whatsoever, but let’s talk about the inconsistencies, the penalties, the millions of dollars―I do not understand it.
“We should have a commission that oversees everything, every state because Canelo Alvarez gets popped in a different state [and] gets six months. Shane Mosley gets popped, and gets zero. So you’re telling me Ryan Garcia gets a year and millions of dollars [in fines]? That is not right.
“Let’s talk about Devin Haney now. Devin Haney, you’re pathetic. You’re dancing around in a bowling alley because you got your decision reversed? Nobody’s going to forget about that beating you took.
“Oh, and let’s not forget. You’re accusing me of not paying you? Bro, you just do not sell. You can audit my company anytime you want. I pay every fighter, and I’m sure you got that from Canelo, what he started. So bro, that one-year layoff, that retirement, just enjoy it. F*** you.“
Oscar De La Hoya
Oscar De La Hoya was not incorrect with his assertions of there boxing benefitting from the presence of a commission that applies consistent ruling for every state within the United States, given each state athletic commission is known to apply their own different rules.
Generally speaking, the United States’ state athletic commissions have proven to be heavily inconsistent, most evident by the fact that most fighters that end up violating anti-doping rules only get hit with suspensions that usually do not last longer than a year. This was even more glaring in the case of American heavyweight Jarrell Miller (26-1, 22 KO’s) who prior to a fight with Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 KO’s)―that was set to be held at Madison Square Garden in New York―tested positive for multiple banned substances.
Instead of receiving any form of disciplinary action, Miller received none as the NYSAC fumbled their reaction to Miller’s positive drug tests as they inexplicably opted to deny him a boxing license amidst his PED-case. Adversely, this proved to be the worst blunder the NYSAC made in its entire history as this very action prevented the state athletic commission from being able to hand any sort of disciplinary action towards Miller.
The Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC)―which is actually meant to be the commission De La Hoya wished to see created as it attempts to standardize and regulate rules across the different state athletic commissions, further did not act in regards to Miller’s positive drug test[s], forcing the World Boxing Association (WBA) to supposedly hand Miller a six-month ban while removing him from their rankings for roughly that same period of time.
However, any supposed ban that the WBA implemented is decisively false as sanctioning bodies can not ban or suspend any fighters with their role being centered around the creation and adaptation of rankings, and the sanctioning and regulating of title bouts.
In this respect, De La Hoya’s statements do bear a lot of valid questions surrounding the inconsistency that appears rife within the sport. However, De La Hoya’s remarks also fail to acknowledge that Ryan Garcia had violated the anti-doping rules by ingesting Ostarine.; ultimately leading to his suspension
Though it has not been substantiated upon by the NYSAC whether Garcia was suspended for intentional doping, despite Garcia not managing to prove his innocence in this regard, Garcia arguably deserves an ever steeper sentence due his pre- and post-match antics that saw him accuse a variety of parties, including the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA)―which as the name implies requires Garcia to voluntarily sign up for their program of regular drug testing.
Generally-speaking, the US’ state athletic commissions also do not appear very stringent with their disciplinary actions as opposed to other countries such as the United Kingdom. As in the example of boxers such as South African fighter Zolani Tete, who received a four-year ban for the use of Stanolozol after fighting in the UK, the minimum penalty for PED-use in the UK appears to be two years and is often ruled as a “ban”, rather than a “suspension” as state athletic commissions are prone to announce.
De La Hoya also spoke on the fines that Garcia was forced to pay, which weren’t as egregious as the promoter made out as his guaranteed purse of reportedly $1.5 million was actually paid back to Golden Boy Promotions. The $10,000 Garcia was forced to pay the NYSAC was also a mild penalty considering Garcia has made 500 times as much for lesser fights.
Lastly, Oscar De La Hoya narrowed in on complaints Haney made after not [yet] getting paid from the pay-per-view (PPV) proceeds of his April 20th fight against Garcia, but the promoter failed to notice or mention his own fighter, Ryan Garcia, had actually started these complaints―which prompted Haney’s reaction.
