Devin Haney angrily accused Ryan Garcia’s father of racism when the fighters again came face to face Thursday in Los Angeles to promote their April 20 fight date.
Haney, the WBC super lightweight champion, is on course to make the first defense of his title against Garcia, his longtime amateur rival, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The fighters met Tuesday in New York, on the first leg of the media tour to promote their fight, and then again two days later in Los Angeles. But after Haney was interrupted by Lisa Garcia, Ryan’s mother, while speaking from the top table, Bill Haney – Devin’s father and trainer – intervened. In turn, he was interrupted by Henry Garcia, Ryan’s father, which led to an ugly verbal mudslinging.
“I don’t respect the man with the toupee over there, your husband,” Bill Haney called out to Lisa Garcia, “because he’s bringing up the bulls***.”
“Nappy head motherf*****,” Henry Garcia responded.
“Nappy head?” Devin Haney said. “That sounds like some racist s***.”
“That’s what he’s looking like,” Henry Garcia said. “That’s what he’s looking like – I’m sorry – a nappy head.”
“Us African-Americans, we have more coarse hair than you Latinos,” said an animated Devin Haney. “But that does not make our hair nappy.”
“It’s not racist,” said Henry Garcia, still seated between his son Ryan and his son’s trainer, Derrick James, who is Black. “It’s called fact.”
“I don’t care about facts or whatever you have to say,” Devin Haney said in response. “At the end of the day, we’re African-Americans and we have different, coarse hair. That does not mean that our hair is nappy.
“These people are not who you guys think they are. This guy’s talking about nappy hair. In what world is that OK to talk about a black man’s hair? We’re talking about a toupee; we did not ever say about black hair.”
“We’re on the subject of hair, bro,” said Ryan Garcia. “Stop tripping.”
“That was very unprofessional,” Devin Haney finished. “April 20, the world will see. My hard work will pay off and we get this guy out of boxing. He’s a f***ing clown – him and his family.”