Devin Haney is currently embroiled in a racism storm as prospective opponent Ryan Garcia calls for everyone to be respectful at this uncertain time.
Haney, the WBC lightweight champion ‘in recess’, made polarizing comments online about the fact he’ll never let himself get ‘beaten by a white boy’.
Instantly, social media blew up and many urged Garcia to speak out. The general consensus was Haney had Garcia (Mexican descent) and Ukrainian Vasyl Lomachenko (European) firmly in his thoughts when making the statement.
Ryan Garcia
Garcia, to his credit, refused to get angry and simply wanted understanding in regards to Haney.
“We should all respect everyone from every race and see who the best man is,” he said.
“I respect Devin Haney and I believe he didn’t mean this with racist intent. Let’s all respect each other for the love of the sport.”
He later explained why he chose not to fly off the handle.
“Even in wrongs, it’s good to show love while explaining what someone did was wrong. Because if you’re so harsh, they can feel attacked and bitter to change.
“Always show love as best as you can,” stated the Golden Boy star.
It’s unlikely Haney will face any punishment for his word despite outcry from some sectors of the boxing community.
The words have been compared to similar ones made by Bernard Hopkins back in the day.
Garcia vs Haney
During this coronavirus lockdown, Garcia vs Haney has been one of the most-talked-about potential clashes for when boxing resumes.
At present, that’s not going to be happening anytime soon, though.
COVID-19 is expected to stop fans gathering in crowds for some months to come, meaning Pay-Per-View online streaming with no fans present, could become the norm.
How it all works out is anyone’s guess at the moment. But on thing is for sure, we need boxing back as soon as possible.
Pitting Garcia and Haney together still seems a world away as the planet battles the effects of a deadly virus. Both will probably need warm-ups too, stopping the fight taking place even longer.
Prior to the outage, Haney was injured and had to give up the WBC title he never won in the ring. A mandated battle with Javier Fortuna would have been delayed too much.
The WBC then ordered Luke Campbell to step in and face Fortuna for the vacate strap, although the delay has now given Haney sufficient time to recover.
Lobbying with the WBC to give him his belt back, it’s all become a complicated situation.
Where Garcia fits into this puzzle in the future is a mystery.
