Star boxer Ryan “KingRy” Garcia is set to step inside the squared circle to challenge for his first world title as he will face the WBC super-lightweight world champion Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) on Saturday, April 20th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Garcia and Haney are longtime rivals who met in the amateurs on six different occasions as both fighters posted three victories. Now they will meet again on a grander stage with the WBC world title at stake.
Ryan Garcia kicked off the promotional tour in New York City when he joined the popular syndicated radio show The Breakfast Club, with hosts DJ Envy, Charlamagne tha God, and Jess Hilarious. Charlamagne jumpstarted the conversation by asking Garcia if he was ready for the smoke.
“The real question is, is he (Haney) ready for the smoke cause, at the end of the day, he can’t do sh*t to me. He can’t crack an egg, so it’s really going to be a hard night for him,” Garcia said. “Twelve rounds of just being in there with me is going to be, you know, I’m scared for him and I’ve been praying that he’s going to be okay.”
Bill Haney, Devin’s father/trainer, has done multiple interviews claiming he was the person who made the fight happen between Devin and Ryan. Garcia disagrees will Bill Haney’s claim as he stated he had a poll on Twitter (X), asking if he should fight Rolly or Haney, and the fans chose Haney.
Once the fans selected Haney, Garcia proceeded to contact his team and request that they make the fight happen. Garcia was sold on fighting Haney until he had a conversation with Hall of Fame boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.
“We went on a run, we started hanging out, and then he was like, this ain’t it. That’s not the move, and I was like, I don’t listen to nobody, but obviously, I’m going to listen to Floyd,” Garcia stated.
Garcia said, “I was like, he’s influential to me because I looked up to him. So I was like, alright, I’m going to trust you, and I will just fight that dude Rollies and knock him out because it’s not that hard. And then I will fight Devin someday somehow later.”
Mayweather temporarily convinced Garcia that instead of fighting Devin Haney, it would make better business sense to fight Rolly Romero. Garcia considered the idea, but in the end, he decided to stick to the fight he already committed to.
Back in June 2016, California native Ryan Garcia made his professional debut by scoring a first-round TKO victory over Edgar Meza. He would go on to win 22 additional fights, but some still questioned his credibility as a boxer due to his large social media following and the antics he performed while on social media.
Garcia took a huge step in April 2023 when he entered the ring to face the then WBA (Regular) lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis. Unfortunately, Garcia lost via 7th-round knockout, but mentally, he was able to quickly recover from the career setback.
“I just say what’s next. That was whatever for me. I wasn’t at my best, and it’s no excuse. It’s just the truth. When somebody handicaps you that much, why would you be mad?”
Garcia was referring to the catchweight and rehydration clauses he had to agree to in order for the fight to be made. The 25-year-old feels like he helped set the tone in regards to fighters being willing to step up and fight the best of the best. Garcia believes his former stablemate Canelo Alvarez has to participate and keep the trend going.
“Canelo, he has to fight Benavidez. That will keep the boxing going,” Garcia said. Ryan went on to say, “This is the biggest fight to make. You are Canelo, the face of boxing; why aren’t you doing it?”
In a potential bout against David Benavidez, Garcia believes Canelo will get touched up, but he picks Canelo to win the match. Garcia is confident in Canelo and he’s also confident in himself, as he is sold on the idea that he will defeat Devin Haney on Saturday night April 20th.
This rivalry is fueled by bad blood as Garcia admits he doesn’t like Devin Haney or his dad, Bill Haney, because, in his opinion, they are fake people. Garcia is feeling anxious in regard to facing Haney because he believes this will be his career-defining victory.
On Saturday night, April 20th, streaming live on DAZN, Ryan Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) will attempt to collect the biggest victory of his career when he clashes with WBC super-lightweight world champion Devin Haney.
Garcia has aspirations of being the face of boxing, and a victory against Haney would be a good start as it relates to taking over that prestigious role.
