Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney have been sharing a ring off and on since their teenage years, having competed as amateurs against each other. The rivalry between the pair of Californians is set to continue into the professional ranks on April 20 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Questions have been raised about Garcia’s conduct and well-being since the fight’s opening press conference, which kicked off a subsequent media circus. Haney will be defending his junior welterweight title for the first time following his impressive victory against Regis Prograis in December last year.
Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) has not been afraid to insult the current WBC titleholder. Questioning Haney’s ambitions and insulting his family were among several of Garcia’s questionable antics over recent weeks.
Although he has in some cases responded with insults of his own, Haney (31-0, 15 KOs), speaking at a recent media workout held in Las Vegas, was adamant that Garcia’s behavior isn’t a concern for him.
Yet the bad blood between the two seems legitimate. In a DAZN promotional video, Garcia insisted that even as teenagers, his amateur fights with Haney – split down the middle 3-3 – were ill-disciplined and hurtful affairs.
“We were at the Junior Olympic Nationals, we were about 14, 15” Garcia told DAZN. “I went at him right away, and I had him hurt and wobbling in the middle of the ring. Everybody’s going crazy.
“One of his people in his corner came up to my dad after the fight, and he said, ‘Devin thinks you broke his eardrum because he can’t hear at all.’ They wanted to stop the fight.”
Garcia added that he believes Haney and his handlers have edited footage of those fights.
“That’s just one example of what I’ve done to him, and he never gave me an eight count,” Garcia said. "They literally cut the video they were showing.”
Garcia also claimed that he was robbed in the tournament final against Haney, in Reno in January 2014.
“He actually got a point taken away for hitting me in the back of the head and still won,” Garcia said. “That means he would have had to kill me all [of] the rounds. They probably robbed me in that fight, but it’s all good. I don’t even care.”
