Bad blood found its way to Times Square on Tuesday when Ryan Garcia’s public workout turned into a verbal spar with Bill Haney, father-trainer of Devin Haney. As Garcia was being gloved up, Haney senior told reporters the Californian “looks softer at 147,” a jab at Garcia’s jump from 140 to the 147-pound catch-weight agreed for Friday’s DAZN PPV. Garcia - who dropped Haney three times last April before the win was erased by a failed ostarine test - shot back, “Your talking got him beat the first time. We can run it again.”
Devin Haney kept the focus on his own assignment, ex-two-belt champion José Ramírez. “Breakfast first, then lunch,” he said, framing Ramírez as the entrée before any rematch talk. Ramírez, enjoying a four-pound cushion after 13 years at junior-welter, flexed a six-pack at the Haney entourage. “Those extra pounds made camp easier; I’ll show a new José,” the 29-2 Californian promised.
Watch Garcia vs. Romero workouts: Watch
Friday’s Times Square card streams on DAZN PPV and also features Teófimo Lopez vs Arnold Barboza Jr. for the WBO 140-lb title. Whether headliners share a ring again later this year may depend on who looks sharper - Garcia against Rolando Romero or Haney against Ramírez - and whose camp does more talking than fighting the next time they cross paths.
Follow the upcoming event here.
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