Bill Haney has no idea what Ryan Garcia is doing with his Instagram account or in the gym.
What Haney is most focused on is preparing his son, world 140-pound champion Devin Haney, for an April 20 title defense at Barclays Center in Brooklyn and to avoid behavior that could compromise the Garcia showdown.
So when unbeaten lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson posted on X Saturday that he “would love to step in” for Garcia, given his erratic behavior, the elder Haney gave that suggestion no air.
“We’re training as if we have a fight with Ryan Garcia,” Haney told BoxingScene Saturday. “I’m not doing anything to jeopardize that. I can’t negotiate with or accept any offer from anyone. F*** Shakur Stevenson.”
On X, Stevenson posted a reply to someone speculating Garcia would withdraw from the fight by next week.
“Damn, I reached out to Bill, didn’t get a reply, but we would love to step in, especially in NY,” Stevenson wrote on X. “We would sell out, and it’s a big fight.”
Garcia’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya refuted the notion of an impending withdrawal Saturday on a DAZN card headlined by Golden Boy Promotions’ William Zepeda.
De La Hoya urged viewers to disregard Garcia’s odd, rambling posts and said he had just spoken to his fighter and believes he’s working hard in the gym.
Bill Haney clearly wants that message to stay on point and not allow this disarray to unravel toward a search for a replacement opponent.
“If [Shakur] wanted to do anything, why bring it to the media?” Haney asked.
The way it would work if Garcia pulled out would be for Haney to negotiate with a promoter or manager, such as Stevenson’s handlers Bob Arum and J. Prince.
“I can’t negotiate with [Stevenson]. If he agreed to anything, he’d still have to go back to Bob and J. Prince and ask them. Him getting into my DMs?
This is all some bullsh*t. I thought he and ‘Tank’ [Gervonta Davis] were going to fight? What happened to that?
“[Stevenson] had a terrible performance last time. What makes you think we want to fight you? You bring nothing to the table.”