Done deal: Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia goes down on April 20
Fighters engage in heated confrontation at Super Bowl radio row
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There will be a seventh installment of the Devin Haney-Ryan Garcia rivalry that dates to when they were teenagers.
Haney will defend the WBC junior welterweight title against Garcia on April 20 in the main event of a Golden Boy card at a site to be determined. The fight will headline a DAZN PPV event in the United States and will be part of a regular DAZN subscription around the rest of the world.
After all the paperwork was finalized on Friday morning, those involved announced the bout on social media with a formal release coming next week and a news conference being planned for the week after.
Hours after the deal was finalized, Haney and Garcia made the rounds on radio row in Las Vegas ahead of Super Bowl Sunday to do interviews and begin promoting the bout. When they were done they were brought together for face-off photos and video. As they came face to face the trash talk got heated before Garcia eventually shoved Haney, who lunged at him in response, and they had to be separated in a chaotic scene.
The deal, which does not include a rematch clause for either fighter, a source involved told Fight Freaks Unite, concluded a topsy-turvy couple of months. Garcia initially asked his promoter, Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya, to pursue the fight with Haney before abruptly switching up after a talk with Floyd Mayweather, who counseled him to try to make a deal to fight his boxer, WBA junior welterweight titlist Rolando Romero, instead.
But, when on the cusp of a deal, Romero instead accepted a defense against Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz that will serve as the co-feature on the Keith Thurman-Tim Tszyu card pay-per-view card that will kick off the deal between Premier Boxing Champions and Amazon Prime Video on March 30.
With Romero out of the picture and Garcia and Haney without any other available big-name opponents for a spring fight, the amateur rivals turned to each other again and the talks were revived.
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It took only about a week to hammer out the drama-free deal negotiated between Golden Boy and Bill Haney, Devin’s manager and trainer, sources involved in the talks told Fight Freaks Unite. Haney has been working with Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn, but they have no long term deal other than Hearn having had the right to match the Golden Boy offer, which he did not do.
“Game 7 this one is for everything… it counts now Devin,” Garcia posted to social media, referencing the fact that they are 3-3 against each other in amateur fights. “This fight for me means everything. I’m coming back for everything in blood. I ask you guys to pray for Devin and his health. Pray his dad (trainer and manager Bill Haney) stops this fight. He will be needed to be carried out if this fight doesn’t get stopped at the appropriate time.”
Haney’s announcement on his social media was short and sweet: “Time to settle the score! April 20th 32-0.”
Haney (31-0, 15 KOs), 25, of Las Vegas, the former undisputed lightweight champion, who moved up and routed Regis Prograis to take his 140-pound title on Dec. 9, will be making his first 140-pound defense.
Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs), 25, of Los Angeles, bounced back from a seventh-round body shot knockout to Gervonta “Tank” Davis in their 136-pound catch weight fight in a blockbuster Showtime PPV event last April to stop Oscar Duarte in the eighth round on Dec. 2.
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There is the good, the bad and the ugly here. I have never bought into Haney's championships - he opportunistically jumped on Kambosos when Lomachenko was in the Ukraine and won two terrible fights that were not championship level. He became undisputed without fighting Loma, Ryan Garcia, Tank, Teofimo, Shakur ...... a very shaky resumé. Then he fought Loma in a fight that was dead even and he finally looked like a champion. The Prograis fight was a boring, low-action affair but Haney showed complete command -- OK, now he signs to fight Ryan Garcia. What to make of the talented, erratic and trash-talking Garcia? Can someone shut him up and get him to put a laser focus on a boxing strategy? Oscar de la Hoya has not been the mentor to Ryan that he should have been. Ryan CAN win this fight but will he? He needs to figure out how to deliver that power, which he has in abundance over Haney. Could be a very good fight and I hope Ryan shows some discipline. That's where Haney has the advantage.
I favor Haney. But in spite of everything, Ryan Garcia is still young and talented. Maybe the Tank loss and potential embarrassment at the hands of Haney will be the motivation he needs. Garcia definitely needs to buckle down and eliminate all of the snakes within his team. He's got two months. I'd love to be surprised.