Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney really don’t like each other.
On Friday, both Garcia and Haney compete at the historic Times Square boxing event dubbed Fatal Fury: City of Wolves, featuring Garcia taking on Rolly Romero for the WBA welterweight title, while Haney faces off with Jose Ramirez in the co-main event. But you would barely know it’s not Garcia and Haney fighting on Friday after their explosive back-and-forth during Wednesday’s press conference.
Garcia and Haney have a storied rivalry at this point, with Garcia winning their fight last April, but missing weight for the bout and then testing positive for the banned substance Ostarine. Garcia settled with the New York State Athletic Commission, resulting in a one-year ban from competition, a fine, and the win being overturned to a No-Contest; however, “King Ryan” maintains his innocence in the matter. Haney, of course, disagrees, and the two appear to be on a collision course should both handle business on Friday. And they certainly did their best to hype up a potential rematch.
Things started quietly enough, but when Garcia was asked about his confrontation with Haney’s father, Bill Haney, at the open workouts on Tuesday, Garcia got heated.
“He was coming at my physique, but it’s all good,” Garcia said. “They were saying the same thing last time and they got their ass whooped last time, too! And you’ll get your ass whooped again!”
“He got off that Ostarine, and he don’t even sound the same!” Haney responded. “His voice changed back. Your physique changed! You’ve got titties now! Those muscles gone, your voice is gone. This motherf*cker is gone!”
Things only escalated from there.
“What the hell happened to Ryan Garcia?” Bill Haney said. “This is not the same Ryan Garcia, at all.”
“I’ve got multiple personalities, bitch!” Garcia retorted. “I’ve got multiple personalities, bitch! And you don’t want to see the crazy one! You don’t want to see the crazy personality, bitch! You and your son are some bitches. You a big bitch!”
Things continued in this manner for a few more minutes, with the two parties shouting over one another. The crowd even got in on the action, chanting “shut the f*ck up” to Bill Haney, after prompted by Garcia.
The Haneys continued going in on Garcia and his failed drug test, and then things took an unexpected turn when Bill Haney and Oscar de la Hoya nearly got physical after Haney made some comments about de la Hoya and his Golden Boy Promotions. After things settled down, it appears that Haney wasn’t really insulting de la Hoya, but the Hall of Famer nonetheless offered to settle things the old-fashioned way.
“Everybody’s a great fighter here,” de la Hoya said. “There’s three main events, three great fights. Sit down, learn how to promote. We can have four if you want. Me and you!”
Check out the entire explosive press conference above.
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