Devin Haney Vows To End Ryan Garcia: ‘My Hard Work Will Pay Off, We Getting This Guy Out Of Boxing’

Devin Haney was left to deliver history lessons during a press conference he was briefly hesitant to attend.

The second leg of a two-city press tour saw Haney, No. 1 at 140 by The Ring, cite the lack of professionalism already exuded by Ryan Garcia, his upcoming challenger for their April 20 clash at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The undefeated two-division and reigning WBC 140-pound titlist also rightly took offense during an exchange between the fathers of the two fighters, when Henry Garcia used a derogatory term to describe Bill Haney’s hair towards the end of Thursday’s press conference at Avalon Hollywood.

The racist mark was made in response to a suggestion by Bill Haney, Devin’s father, head trainer and manager, that the elder Garcia wears a toupee. Bill Haney has repeatedly made the claim during the press conferences held in New York City and Los Angeles, and again while addressing disruptive comments from the crowd by Lisa Garcia, Ryan’s mother, after the elder Haney’s criminal past was brought up during the session.

“You’re a nappy head m*****f*****,” Henry Garcia replied.

“Nappy head, that sound like some racist shit,” Devin Haney responded.

“That’s what he’s looking like. I’m sorry, he’s got a nappy head,” shot back Henry Garcia.

The livestream—which aired on DAZN and the YouTube channels for Golden Boy Promotions, Matchroom Boxing and DAZN Boxing—immediately picked up head trainer Derrick James, who is African-American, urging Henry to take it down a notch, while Ryan extended his arm to grab the microphone from his father.

“Us African-Americans, we have more coarse hair than you Latinos, but that don’t make our hair nappy,” insisted Haney. “I don’t care about facts or whatever you have to say. At the end of the day, we’re African-Americans and we have different, coarse hair. That does not mean that our hair is nappy.”

“That’s not racist, it’s called facts,” suggested Henry Garcia, before Ryan openly suggested to move along the press conference.

Haney wasn’t done, though.

“These people aren’t who you think they are,” said Haney, referring to the Garcia family. “These guys talking about nappy hair. In what world is that okay to talk about a black man’s hair.”

“We’re on the subject of hair, bro,” replied Ryan Garcia. “Stop tripping.”

The afternoon session eventually made its way back to what should be the focal point—the actual fight.

The DAZN PPV event (in the U.S.) has carried the tagline of ‘This One Counts.’ It is in reference to their having won three fights apiece during their six amateur meetings; both fighters referred to this bout as ‘Game 7’ to break the tie.

Haney (31-0, 15 knockouts), No. 7 pound-for-pound by The Ring, will attempt the first defense of the WBC 140-pound title he claimed in a twelve-round shutout of Regis Prograis (29-2, 24 KOs; The Ring No. 5 at 140) last December 9 in San Francisco, California.

The feat was the latest in an incredible pound-for-pound run by Haney, who turned just 25 last November. It came less than seven months after his far more competitive unanimous decision over former three-division titlist Vasiliy Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KOs; No. 1 at 135) last May 20 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Both fights were pay-per-view headliners. DAZN will also air Haney-Garcia on its PPV arm in the US, and as part of its subscription throughout most of the rest of the world (though still being negotiated for UK markets).

Prior to Haney’s 2023 Fighter of the Year-level campaign, he claimed back-to-back wins over George Kambosos Jr. in a pair of 2022 fights on the road in Melbourne, Australia. Kambosos (21-2, 10 KOs; No. 8 at 135) was the unbeaten Ring, WBA, IBF and WBO lightweight champion when Haney, the WBC 135-pound titlist, soundly outpointed him in June 2022 to fully unify the division. He repeated the feat later that October before he defeated Lomachenko for the second and final defense of the undisputed crown.

The incredible run came after Haney was forced to move on from a previously targeted title consolidation bout versus Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs), also 25. Haney was ringside when Garcia rose from the canvas to knock out England’s Luke Campbell in the seventh round of their Jan. 2021 interim WBC lightweight title fight.

Haney pushed for the WBC to next order the mandatory. Garcia instead moved in a different direction, though one that would force him to withdraw from two separately scheduled fights that year, once for a mental health reset and the other to undergo surgery to his right hand and wrist.

Garcia never returned to the lightweight division. His four bouts since then have all come above the 135-pound mark, including his seventh-round knockout defeat to Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis (29-0, 27 KOs; No. 2 at 135). The April 22 bout came at a contracted 136-pound limit.

Despite the defeat, the event itself was a financial blockbuster. Their Showtime PPV main event from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas generated roughly $100,000,000 from a reported 1.2 million units sold, along with an estimated $22.8 million in ticket sales.

Garcia rebounded with an eighth-round knockout of Mexico’s Oscar Duarte (28-2-1, 21 KOs) last December 2 at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The 25-year-old from Victorville, California weighed a career-heaviest 143 pounds for the non-title fight.

His bout versus Haney will mark the first full title fight for Garcia; both fighters will be required to weigh no more than 140 pounds during the official pre-fight weigh-in.

Haney has been all business about the fight and has taken exception to a now-viral Instagram Live posting of Garcia which suggested he was smoking marijuana. The defending titleholder also accused his challenger of being drunk during Tuesday’s press conference and brought up both instances on Thursday.

“What kind of example are you for the younger generation,” questioned Haney, whose initial reaction to Garcia’s video was to skip Thursday’s press conference.

Haney ultimately had a change of heart on that stance, in recognition of his fans as well as the media who committed to covering the L.A. event.

Garcia downplayed his marijuana use by suggesting it is legal, although still tested as a banned substance by the New York State Athletic Commission who will oversee the April 20 DAZN PPV event.

“The younger generation looks up to us,” cited Haney. “Why are you trying to publicize… there’s young kids watching us.”

Garcia pointed to his already stellar physique that he will be game-time ready on fight night.

“You don’t have a six-pack [of abs, not the alcohol] if you’re drinking every day and smoking,” noted the young star. “Being an idiot doesn’t produce strength; hard work does.”

Haney didn’t necessarily dispute that part, though he still feels both fighters owe it to the public to put their best foot forward in and out of the ring.

“I have respect for Ryan because we shared the ring six times as kids,” noted Haney of their amateur rivalry. “Over these last few days, I’ve lost a lot of respect for him. The world is tuning in, look how many people are here to watch us. I’m a true professional in everything I do. My dad didn’t make the best choices in life but he molded me to become the man I am today.

“On the other hand, we got this guy who who is doing the complete opposite… April 20, the world will see. My hard work will pay off and we getting this guy out of boxing. He’s a f***ing clown – him and his family.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). X (formerly Twitter): @JakeNDaBox

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