Ryan Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) has a warning for Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs).
Haney is all set to face Jose Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) in the co-feature, where Garcia faces Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero (16-2, 13 KOs). While Haney has been eyeing a rematch with Garcia, the latter isn’t particularly confident that ‘The Dream’ will even fare well in his upcoming fight. In fact, he believes that Haney is setting himself up for a whopping.
Garcia was clearly the crowd favorite as all the fighters sat down for their final press conference. Haney received a rather unkind response from the crowd as New Yorkers (and other fans) unceasingly booed as he tried to speak.
“Ya’ll can boo, or ya’ll can cheer; it don’t matter,” he said, getting visibly annoyed by the booing. “It’s all noise. When I dust Jose Ramirez off on Friday, I’ma get to ya’ll boy, Ryan, after.”
Garcia had recently opened up about his wish to bid adieu to the sport of boxing following his fight against Romero. With a strong belief that Romero has never been seen as a “real elite fighter,” Garcia is expecting to dish out a quick knockout and “ride off in the sunset.”
However, if true, this would put Haney’s plans of a rematch with Garcia up in smoke. When asked about his recent fiasco with Haney’s father, Bill Haney, Garcia seemed surprisingly unbothered, albeit leaving it with a word of warning for the younger Haney. “He was trying to come at my physique, but it’s all good. They were saying the same thing last time, they got their a*s whooped last time, too. You’re going to get your a*s whooped again,” he said.
Bill Haney has been particularly notorious for his constant beef with Garcia. The recent open workouts saw the older Haney and Garcia exchange in a rather fiery war of words, leaving quite the spectacle for boxing aficionados. And he certainly did not miss the opportunity to body shame Garcia.
“I didn’t see the same fighter. I seen (saw) a fighter that’s not as chiseled, a fighter that is not as aggressive, and Ryan, you done lost your confidence,” Haney later said following the verbal debacle. “I know that’s not the same guy; that’s not the same body type. I wanted to see it. That’s not the same body as seven more pounds from 140?! He got titties. He had titties, he had the flap, I’m telling you.”
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