Devin Haney There is a friendly response ryan garciaAnd in the wake of Garcia's pre-fight antics, he's now letting the world know he plans to take the fight privately.
The junior welterweights will fight for Haney's version of the world title on April 20th at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York (DAZN PPV).
Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) and Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) have known each other most of their lives. They grew up together on the same American boxing circuit and fought six times as amateurs. Although they were rivals, they built a relationship over the years and maintained a friendly relationship. Haney believes Garcia's perceived disrespect and disrespect for his abilities will go away after the fight, but a lot has changed.
In a recent video published on DAZN Boxing's YouTube channel, Haney spoke to Chris Mannix about Garcia.
“Ryan Garcia has known me since I was 10 years old,” Haney said. “He knows what type of fighter I am. He can say what he's going to say. I know he's going to bark and belittle me for being the fighter type. After April 20th, he would say he knew how great I was.
Haney isn't too thrilled with Garcia's recent actions, even though some say his opponent is just picking a fight.
“He crossed the line,” Haney said, referring to Garcia's comments about his religion. “Let's leave it as it is.”
Haney, on the other hand, is known for his keen boxing IQ and conditioning, but not so much for his power at the highest level, and pursued Garcia's power. Most of Haney's marquee fights have been on a scheduled round-by-round basis, but he doesn't mind the perceived power mismatch with Garcia.
“Many of them had power,” Haney said. “I'm just on a different level. He can bring all the power he wants. I bring the skills and IQ that I've gained and handicap his power the same way I did. I’m going to show him.”
