The New York Mets stopped Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney from throwing the first pitch following the two boxers’ encounter on the Empire State Building.
Haney and Garcia are desperately trying to promote their fight on April 20 after tickets are struggling to sell. With less than a week to go, the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, is still not sold out. Garcia’s pre-fight antics have been blamed. His admissions of drinking and smoking weed show a fighter whose focus may be elsewhere.
Haney is also not the biggest draw, only selling an alleged $50,000 PPVs for the Regis Prograis fight in his last bout. To create more interest, ticket prices have been reduced. DAZN has also reduced the PPV price from $80 to $69.99. Haney pushed Garcia during their face-off at the Empire State Building to garner more interest. Haney became angry when Garcia mentioned his mother. Bill Haney also responded, promising that his son would kill Garcia.
“When we get through with Ryan, the world is going to know about it if they’re not watching. So, we’re not worried about it. It’s going to be a legal homicide. Devin is going to beat it up on April 20th. The amount of tickets and the amount of sales is reflective on who we fights, and not on who we are.
“If Bob Arum is the promoter that he’s accounted to be, then he’ll make that fight happen just like Oscar De La Hoya. Oscar De La Hoya didn’t let Ryan Garcia’s antics keep him from not showing up on April 20th. When I talk about Devin, there are a lot of things that make him the Face of Boxing. There’s a lot of challenges that he’s faced,” Bill Haney stated
Haney And Garcia Banned
Reporter Chris Mannix has now confirmed the ban.
“Bizarre scene tonight at Citi Field in New York, where Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia were scheduled to throw out the first pitch of Mets-Pirates. Mets officials pulled the plug on it after the fighters arrived, I’m told by sources w/direct knowledge, because they didn’t want to risk an incident on the field. Haney and Garcia, who will face off Saturday at Barclays Center, scuffled at the Empire State Building earlier today,” Mannix
The news is a massive blow, given that the fight is struggling to sell. The promotion has now missed out on getting some air time at the Mets-Pirates baseball game. Given that New York was not the first choice for the fight, it is vital that any publicity is gathered. Garcia was unhappy with the incident, accusing the Mets of wasting his time. He also told his fans not to attend their games.
“So guys, the Mets just wasted three hourse of out lives to say at the end we can’t throw the pitch for whatever reason. There was no reason. They kicked us out for no reason. So everybody, I’m personally going to say…Don’t ever go to a Mets game again,” Garcia stated
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