Ryan Garcia has taken particular interest in Devin Haney’s divisive father Bill as the build-up continues to intensify for Saturday’s world title fight.
The 25-year-old has a long-standing feud with his rival since their school days, when they would battle as amateur fighters on six different occasions. Neither of them managed to get the ultimate upper hand before they became professionals, although Haney has pulled ahead as a professional – becoming two-weight world champion.
Finally, this Saturday the pair’s paths will cross in the paid ranks after an intense build-up that has featured many heated moments. Just this week, Haney pushed Garcia atop the Empire State Building, while the pair have gone back-and-forth on a number of occasions.
Bill Haney sends death warning to Ryan Garcia ahead of Devin Haney fight
While Garcia’s feud with Devin Haney has been intense, perhaps the most aggressive rivalry is between ‘King Ry’ and his opponent’s dad Bill. The elder Haney is known for his outbursts on the microphone – a major difference from his relatively reserved son Devin.
In the lead-up to Saturday’s fight night, Bill used an infamous line from Rocky 4 villain Ivan Drago, telling reporters “If he dies, he dies”. “At first, I wanted Devin to go beat him,” he told the media. “But now I want him to kill him.”
“He disrespected boxing and he disrespected people,” Haney continued in another media scrum. “He disrespected the sport, and if he dies, he dies, just like Drago said. This ain’t a game. I’m sending my son to go kill him.”
Ryan Garcia accused of disrespecting religion with Devin Haney fight build-up
Part of Garcia’s pre-fight build has been his intense activity on social media, where he has invoked numerous conspiracy theories and made a number of wild claims. And the elder Haney feels he has gone too far with his comments about religion and other taboo topics.
“I’m sending him to go kill him,” Bill Haney explained. “You disrespect the country; you disrespect the people; you disrespect a religion – you will be sentenced, and I’m sending my son to go kill him. I don’t care what nobody says about him.
“If you don’t want to watch it, and you don’t want to see it, then don’t watch it. It was a suicide for him to sign up and it’s going to be a homicide on April 20, because of all the disrespect. It’s going to be an annihilation. It’s not going to be a beating, it’s going to be an annihilation.”
Ryan Garcia’s chilling threat to Devin Haney’s dad Bill
But it isn’t just the Haney camp threatening their rival’s lives. In a DAZN promo for the fight, Garcia noted that he was a great actor. He then demanded a scenario for an improv exercise, before deciding on his speech after Saturday’s fight.
After the younger Haney accused him of being little more than an actor, Garcia replied: “Damn right, I know how to act my a** off. You want to see me improv right now? I’m an actor, give me a scene, alright I’ve got it.”
He then burst into a dramatic pose, feigning tears as he acted out speaking to his rival’s dad after the fight. “Bill, it’s Devin,” he said breathlessly. “He’s not waking up, Bill, I’m serious let’s scratch out the boxing bulls***, he’s not waking up. F*** you. And scene!”
SECRET PLAN: Ryan Garcia unveils secret game plan for Devin Haney fight