The Palladium at Times Square in NYC played host to the press conference for WBC junior welterweight champion Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) vs Ryan Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs), which streams live on DAZN PPV, April 20. The atmosphere was everything you would expect from a NYC crowd, as there were no empty seats, and fans for Haney and Garcia showed up to support their fighter.
During the opening segment, DAZN had Todd Grisham joined by Ak & Barak to warm things up for those watching the live stream. They welcomed Golden Boy Promotions Chairman & CEO Oscar De La Hoya to the broadcast, and what he said was a little bit of a surprise. De La Hoya praised Hall of Fame Promoter Bob Arum from Top Rank and said he learned from him, which has allowed him to make the best fights possible. It was a bit of a surprise as De La Hoya hasn’t had the greatest relationship with Arum but felt the need to give him his flowers on the broadcast.
Then, DAZN broadcaster Chris Mannix came to the stage, and he introduced the fighters. He first called on Garcia to make his way to the stage, where a couple of women came out throwing rose petals on the floor before Garcia took a step, and he made his way to a throne-like chair that was set up for him. Haney would then be called up and played to the NYC crowd by wearing construction timbs and playing the Notorious BIG hit “Hypnotize.”
The presser then got underway with the promoters saying their piece, and things started to take a turn when Bernard Hopkins began giving his thoughts on the matchup. Hopkins would go down a rabbit hole, and in the middle of it, Garcia stood up and asked to squash the beef he and Hopkins had. Hopkins said there wasn’t any beef, but truth be told, some unpleasant things have been said to each other in the past two years.
Bill Haney approached the podium and immediately went after Hopkins and the references used about being in jail. Bill Haney thanked Oscar De La Hoya for being “a man of his word” and getting the fight done but reverted back to Hopkins. At this point, Bill made himself the focal point of the press conference. Bill would then predict a fifth-round knockout.
Then, the fighters finally got to speak. Garcia mentioned wanting to fight for money early on in his career but that he is now about legacy. He made some jokes about members of Haney’s team, addressed his comments about the venue, and made jokes about members of Haney’s team.
Haney would then grab the mic and reference the “Tank” Davis fight to Garcia while mentioning Garcia has quit in him. Haney promised a great fight and that he could knock out Garcia if the opportunity presented itself. His father, Bill, took it a step further and said Garcia would get knocked out in the first round, and if he did, Garcia would then retire from boxing.
Finally, after plenty of back and forth, both fighters went face to face, and the real tension between them played out. Haney and Garcia have circled each other since their matchups in the amateurs, but now this is real and has more at stake. There was plenty said between the two, and things got heated as the NYC crowd fed into it.
The press conference delivered more anticipation for the April 20 fight between Haney and Garcia. They will now fly to Los Angeles, CA, where they will stop for the second part of their promotional tour. What new storylines will develop from the West Coast press conference? Tune in on Thursday as Haney meets Garcia in sunny California.
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