Devin Haney has little respect for the skills of Ryan Garcia.
Haney defends his WBC super lightweight title against his rival on April 20 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) is making the first defense of the title he won when he defeated Regis Prograis in December in San Francisco.
Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) bounced back from his loss to Gervonta “Tank” Davis with a stoppage win over Oscar Jurado Duarte in December.
Haney and Garcia are due to meet at the second press conference on their two-city media tour in Los Angeles later today, having come face-to-face in New York on Tuesday.
Haney, incidentally, wote on X last night, “I’m not going to the press conference tomorrow.. this dude Ryan wasting mine & everybody’s time foh.”
That was reportedly in reply to a Garcia post of him smoking on a Twitter space and writing, "Amazing bro. looking good, training good. I'm laughing because I'm high as f**k."
Both fighters are expected to be there, in Los Angeles, later today.
“It started off, Ryan called me out after the last fight,” Haney told ESPN. “I have been knowing Ryan since we were nine or 10 years old. This is our seventh fight, but [this is the one that] really matters in the pros. I know Ryan really well, and I have a lot of experience with him in the ring.
“He was one of the ones when we were young. I am one of the ones when we were older. The world can see how much better I am as a pro. How much more I have matured in the pro career. I am just a better overall fighter.”
Haney gives Garcia credit for his explosive left hook, and believes that that punch is the most dangerous thing about him.
“I am going to go in there and handicap him, like I do every opponent,” he said. “We know what Ryan wants to do – he wants to land the hook. That’s all he has – after that it is nothing more.
“I can’t rank him now, but after the fight I will be able to tell you more.”
