Floyd Mayweather’s attempts to delay Ryan Garcia fighting Devin Haney look set to fail as a deal between the pair is growing closer.
Promoter Eddie Hearn updated during Conor Benn fight week that Haney vs Garcia is on the verge of an agreement, potentially for April 20.
Mayweather had told Garcia not to go down the Haney route as the pair spent time together in Las Vegas last month. Garcia took that advice and called off talks with the WBC super-lightweight champion. In a twist, Garcia turned his attention to Rolly Romero, the WBA champion. Romero chose to face Isaac Cruz instead, leaving Garcia without any options left.
Garcia was forced to return to Haney and persuade him to reopen negotiations. Luckily for “Kingry,” things seem to have worked out.
Floyd Mayweather influenced Ryan Garcia
Admitting his nativity at doing Floyd Mayweather’s bidding, Garcia wants to focus on the positives.
“We were in talks to fight. I sent my team to go and talk to Devin Haney’s team. I said this is who I want,” explained Garcia to Fighthype. “Then I invited the people to have a say in who I fight next. I asked if it should be Rolando Romero or Devin Haney. The pole was close, but ultimately, Devin Haney won. So I wanted to give everybody that fight because the people voted, and you should get what you voted for.
“[The] Long story short is I am in Vegas and having a great time. I’m hanging out with Floyd, and I am not going to lie. He is pretty influential. He said why would you do that? Why don’t you fight Rolly for the belt and then fight Devin Haney? He gave me advice. I stated that it makes pretty much sense, but I said I told the people already that I was going to fight Devin. He said some things change. That’s basically what he said.
“I am paraphrasing here. It was a lot deeper than that, and there was a lot more conversation, but I will save that.
Rolly Romero or Devin Haney
“I made a quick decision. So, I said Floyd, that makes sense. I am going to go and get another belt. We started talking to Rolly’s team, and that started working out. I just threw in Cruz’s name because I always wanted to beat his arse for a long time. I thought, let’s talk to everybody. My options are open. Who wants to fight? Let’s make the best deal.
“I guess Rolly took offense to that. He decided to go into negotiations with Cruz and then act like he was in negotiations with me to try to use my name. He then swept it under the rug and went to fight Cruz.”
If fans get Haney vs Garcia, no harm has been done. However, there’s a growing fear that the Golden Boy star is having his head turned by more than Mayweather.
His public feud with Oscar De La Hoya shows no signs of slowing down. On many occasions, the team around Garcia has taken the blame.
Something will give at some point, with scrutiny of any Haney vs Garcia media formalities to be enhanced.
