Ryan Garcia opens up on drugs ban and retirement from boxing... as troubled fighter hints again at UFC move

Ryan Garcia insists he will return to boxing next year - after a brief 'retirement' in protest at his 12-month ban for doping.

The troubled boxer has again hinted at a move into the UFC in the wake of the scandal that followed his fight with Devin Haney.

Garcia recently reached a settlement with the New York State Athletic Commission, after testing positive for the banned substance ostarine in tests taken before the fight on April 20.

He will serve a one-year suspension, forfeit his $1.2million contract purse and pay a $10,000 fine, while his victory over Haney will also be officially changed to a no-contest.

Garcia, who has maintained that he was a victim of 'contamination', recently claimed he was retiring from boxing. 

But the 25-year-old now claims he is taking a break - to ensure his fate is out of the hands of the authorities. 

'I'm retiring for a year. So they don't get the (satisfaction) for suspending me cause it's bull. I never took steroids in my life. They can all suck weiners,' he told TMZ. 

'It does (hurt). (Devin's) a "b", and his daddy's a "b".'

The troubled boxer worried fans in the leadup to the fight with a series of disturbing social media posts and was recently arrested for felony vandalism in Beverly Hills.

Garcia has also previously hinted at a move into MMA and he called out UFC fighter Sean O'Malley, proposing a fight in the Octagon - or a bare-knuckle contest.

'I like "Suga" because he defended me,' Garcia continued. 'But if he really wants to run it in the UFC, I'll run it. Or bare knuckle. S***, I'm ready to fight anyone at this point.'