Eddie Hearn has slammed Gervonta Davis after the Baltimore man appeared to accuse him of having an involvement in Ryan Garcia’s failed drugs test.
Garcia tested positive for the banned substance Ostarine during both a pre-fight and post-fight VADA test following his majority decision victory over Devin Haney last month.
‘Tank’, who stopped Garcia in seven rounds last April, put out a series of tweets appearing to defend his former rival and hit out at Hearn, who did not promote the fight, but is a part of Haney’s team and was at the fight in Brooklyn.
In a now-deleted tweet, the 29-year-old wrote: “They doing anything to take the win from Ryan.. if that’s the case BANNED EDDIE HEARN SILVER POON ASS!”
Hearn and Davis have had several social media back-and-forths in recent months, including after ‘Tank’ leaked Hearn’s offer for him to face Conor Benn earlier this year.
‼️ Gervonta Davis rips into Eddie Hearn and defends Ryan Garcia over his positive drugs tests for the Devin Haney fight… pic.twitter.com/2dS7YgXLHx
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) May 2, 2024
The Matchroom boss has not taken kindly to his comments, but says he will resist legal action against him.
“I should sue Gervonta Davis for defamation,” Hearn told Boxing Social.
“But honestly I can’t be bothered, because the guy puts a tweet up and then takes it down again.
“What’s that all about?
“If you’ve got something to say, say it, stand by your words.
“So, you’re suggesting that I was involved in Ryan Garcia testing positive with VADA? Do me a favour.
“I’ve had many fighters test positive with VADA and I’ve never once gone, ‘someone’s out to get me’ and there’s probably many that are.
“I DM’d him, I said ‘you talk some s*** you do’, because he’s done it before to me.
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“If I’ve said something he don’t like, he’s DM’d and I’ll do the same.”
According to boxing insider Dan Rafael, who first reported the news, Garcia “screened positive” for Norandrosterone, although this is subject to IRMS analysis and is not confirmed.
‘King Ry’, who missed weight by 3.2lbs – the day he returned his first positive drugs test – has denied that he knowingly took performance enhancing drugs, prior to dropping Haney three times and relieving him of his undefeated record.
Hearn suggested that Haney would now push for the result to be overturned to a no contest, whilst Garcia has 10 days to request a B sample.
Haney said in a statement: “It’s unfortunate Ryan cheated and disrespected both the fans and the sport of boxing by fighting dirty and breaking positive not once, but twice.
“Ryan owes the fans an apology and by his recent tweet he still thinks this is a joke.
“We put our lives on the line to entertain people for a living.
“You don’t play boxing. This put the fight in a completely different light.
“Despite the disadvantage, I still fought on my shield and got back up.
“People die in this sport. This isn’t a joking matter.”
