Ryan Garcia hints that tomorrow’s press conference in Los Angeles with Devin Haney will be better than the New York press conference. Hopefully, that’s the case, considering Ryan (24-1, 20 KOs) looked disengaged, bored, and irritable throughout, sitting on his throne, flanked by six beautiful women.
That wasn’t the ideal way for the 25-year-old Ryan to promote his fight against WBC light welterweight champion Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) on April 20th on DAZN PPV at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Haney also fouled things up by telling the media repeatedly that Ryan was drunk and saying he was an “alcoholic.” That’s the wrong approach to promote a fight by telling the media that the challenger has a drinking problem. That’s why some fans believe Haney is best when he’s not talking and letting his father, Bill, speak for him.
Setting Expectations
“If you thought the NYC press conference was wild. LA HAS NO IDEA!!” said Ryan Garcia on X, discussing his press conference this Thursday, February 29th, with WBC light welterweight champion Haney.
The press conference needs more drama this time. Haney looked like a mannequin, sitting on stage, hiding his eyes behind sunglasses, and appearing quite heavy, perhaps in the neighborhood of 180 lbs.
Devin’s face looked swollen from weight gain since his last fight against Regis Prograis, and it’s pretty clear that he’s been eating well. It’s hard to believe that Haney fights at 140 because he looks like an out-of-shape junior middleweight.
Will Ryan Follow a Script?
Fans want to know who Ryan’s special guest will be because he’d talked about having someone at his press conference. Was it the women that he was referring to? If so, that didn’t do much for the fans, as most of them were non-smiling, looking like they didn’t want to be there.
If Ryan is going to be following a script for the Los Angeles press conference, it’s got to be something good and not what we saw yesterday.
“This really is the unrivaled home of boxing. Without the fighters wanting the biggest tests, we don’t see fights like this happening,” said promoter Eddie Hearn, talking about the mega-fight between Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney.
“What Bill [Haney] has done with Devin is an incredible story of father and son. They hustled their way to get recognized and respected. I’m so pleased now that he’s getting the plaudits he deserves.
“On April 20th at the Barclays Center, these two are not just fighting for the prestigious world title, they’re fighting at the face of boxing. They’re 25-years-old and this is what’s going to make this sport great,” said Hearn.