The Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia press tour is off on an exciting note! After ‘The Dream’ Haney and ‘King Ry’ Garcia defeated their opponents last year, and subsequently talks of a fight between them came to light. Though Floyd Mayweather’s influence over the Victorville native derailed the fight negotiations for a bit, thanks to Rolly Romero’s surprising U-turn, the fight was back on the table. And since then, a lot has happened between the two old rivals. 

However, all this came to a head during Tuesday’s press conference in Palladium Times Square in New York. Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia will face each other on April 20 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. So, an undeniable aura of tension swiftly filled the entire venue when the duo met for the first time after their altercation during the Super Bowl Radio Row. Here are all the highlights from their press conference, from squashed beef to the intense face-off, that for a moment, looked like it would spill over into an all-out brawl.

Ryan Garcia interrupts Eddie Hearn 

English boxing promoter Eddie Hearn promoted Haney’s last fight against Regis Prograis, where ‘The Dream’ made his 140-pound debut and became the WBC super welterweight champion. After the win, Hearn had wished to make the fight between Garcia and Haney, so when it became a reality, he came to support his fighter during the press conference.

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While addressing the media, Hearn said, “I think he might be unbeatable. He might be one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport. When you’re as dedicated as he is, and when you do things right…” However, the speech wasn’t going to last for long, as Ryan Garcia took offense to the statement.

Garcia interrupted the head of Matchroom Boxing, accusing him of lying through his teeth. Garcia said, “Come on, Eddie – stop lying. That’s a crazy statement, dude. Anybody is beatable, that’s cap, and I like you. You don’t have to lie. That was a lie.” Having fought Haney six times in amateurs and winning thrice, Garcia believes he has the key to defeating the undefeated Haney in the professional realm. 

Bernard Hopkins and Ryan Garcia hug it out!

It’s no secret that Oscar De La Hoya along with Golden Boy Promotions’ top brass Bernard Hopkins have been at odds with Ryan Garcia. The promoter and boxer duo even sued each other over Garcia’s contractual obligations. However, the feud between Garcia and Hopkins escalated after the latter made some comments before the Oscar Duarte fight.

During the press conference for that fight, Garcia had openly addressed the matter, throwing shade at Hopkins. However, during Tuesday’s press conference for the Haney fight, Garcia and Hopkins finally made up. While Hopkins was speaking about the upcoming fight, Garcia suddenly got up and said, “Bernard, you want to squash the beef?”

Also Read: Devin Haney Says Despite Getting Stronger and Bigger, Ryan Garcia Still Fights Like an ‘Amateur’

Hopkins responded, “We don’t have no beef,” as the crowd started cheering for the duo. What’s more, Garcia seems to have repaired his relationship with Oscar as well, as evidenced by his Instagram story from yesterday. Garcia shared a clip with Oscar De La Hoya, seemingly enjoying each other’s company.

Ryan Garcia clears things up about the drama surrounding the venue

Not long ago, Ryan Garcia turned to social media to express his desire to fight in Las Vegas instead of New York. The same didn’t sit well with Haney – who accused Garcia of trying to weasel his way out of the fight. After all, Garcia had dropped a fight against him before, so while speaking to the media on Tuesday, Garcia cleared the confusion. 

“Okay, I’m [going to] explain this, all right. I love NYC. Everybody thinks I’m hating on fighting NYC. I love NYC, personally. I do. My whole thing is this – if we can do May 4th in Vegas, why wouldn’t we fight in Vegas? But look, if it’s NYC, it’s NYC. I’mma get to him here at the Barclays on April 20th. I’m straight up. If he wants, we’ll fight on April 20th. I’m going destroy you anyways,” said Garcia.

Devin Haney brings up the Gervonta Davis loss

After Ryan was done with his speech, it was Haney’s turn to pry away at an old wound. In April last year, Garcia fought Gervonta Davis and lost the fight after the latter delivered a lethal body shot in the seventh round. Garcia had to take a knee and opted not to continue – it got him a lot of criticism from the people.

So, during the presser, Haney claimed, “Listen, we [have] seen Ryan quit before we [have] seen him take a knee. And April 20th will be no different. DAZN, they put the Bounty up, and on April 20th I’m capturing the [bum], and we come home with the victory.” 

Devin Haney addresses beef with Ryan Garcia regarding his religion

Not long ago, Garcia appeared in an interview with Ariel Helwani, claiming he had once wished Haney a ‘Merry Christmas.’ Apparently, it offended the WBC super lightweight champion. Garcia stated that Haney thought it was a dig at his religion, something Garcia thought was dumb. During the presser on Tuesday, Haney brought up the topic.

“I heard some things that  Ryan has said about my religion, which [I] and Ryan talked about before. He said that he didn’t say, so I’m not going to hold him to that. But at the end of the day, it’s personal now. It’s bigger than boxing,” said Haney. Hearing this, Ryan quickly picked up the mic to clarify the situation.

“I want to just address that real quick. Obviously, we did it before, but I’m not here to disrespect him like that. I don’t want to disrespect anybody’s religion. I’m going to keep it like that, and he knows I apologize to him if I did say it. I just want to shake your hand…,” Garcia stated while shaking Haney’s hand, seemingly ending that beef there. 

Ryan Garcia promises to retire if…

If not anything else, one interesting bet was made during the press conference! While talking the usual trash to each other, the mediator brought up Bill Haney’s prediction that Haney would knock out Garcia in the first round, which made Garcia jump out of his chair with laughter. So, Haney explained what would happen in the fight. 

“If he gets in there and he violates, he gets in there, he gets reckless – he will get caught like we’ve seen him get caught before,” said Haney. Immediately, Bill Haney interjected and asked if Haney knocked him out in the first round, would Garcia retire. To this, Ryan Garcia responded, “I’ll give you my word,” as he walked to Bill and Devin to shake their hands. 

Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney come face to face & intoxication allegations

After both sides had done all the talking, Garcia and Haney finally came face to face. Haney immediately caught a whiff of alcohol on Garcia’s breath, and he said, “You’ve been drinking. I can smell it on your breath.” It, of course, enraged Garcia, who initially spoke against being drunk, but then claimed, “I’ll drink a beer and beat the f**k out of you.”

If the presser wasn’t tense enough, after Haney’s comment, it did! It got even worse when Garcia started chanting, “How about I beat the f**k out of you?” The pair did not stand there long enough to take a picture as Garcia stormed off after a few more insults. After the press conference, Haney said in an interview, “Ryan is an alcoholic. He drinks a lot. We don’t know which Ryan we’re gonna get. We don’t know. He might be off a bottle of Casamigos (tequila) when you’re talking to him.”

With just the presser starting in such an exciting fashion, fans can only dream about the fight on April 20. Technically, it will be their seventh fight since their amateur days – the final boss fight, in a sense, that will determine who is the better fighter. Who are you betting on? Do you think Garcia has a shot at winning?

Read More: “I Don’t Give a F**K if You’re [Barack Obama] if You’re Hating”: Ryan Garcia Comes Clean on His Rocky Relationship With Oscar De La Hoya