Dsalita Ryan Garcia sits down with Chris Mannix for an in-depth talk about his upcoming April 20 PPV fight with Devin Haney and discusses the fight and why he believes he’ll prove to be too much for the 140 lb titleholder. Garcia, who says he believes he’s the face of boxing, breaks it all down in the interview with some excerpts below.
Garcia on what he remembers from his amateur fights with Devin Haney
“That he was just a kid trying to get into the sport. Like, he wasn’t known at all. He just came in out of nowhere and started boxing and everybody was beating him so when I first fought him I was like ‘another kid, he sucks, bye.’ Like, I beat him very easy the first time. But obviously he started evolving and got better and then all the sudden he started beating people.
“When I’m locked in, I hurt him every time. There’s times where I didn’t lock in and he ended up beating me on points, but it was very mediocre wins, nothing that stands out. When I beat him people were talking about it even after that.
“There’s guys that are like great, good, and then there’s that guy. I’m that guy. So when I fight it’s not mid. When he fights, it’s mid…there’s a different energy, we’re not the same. I’m about to show you when it comes to fight night.”
On calling out Haney after he beat Prograis
“It felt like it was time. I’m also in the best place I’ve been in for a long time. It carried over from Duarte and just got even better so this is the time, I feel like I’m stepping right into my prime, and I feel like in my heart I’m the face of boxing. And I say that because of my upside and how I can make anything have a higher reach.
“I touch places that Canelo can’t touch and I touch places that no fighter right now can touch, just me. I’m a marketing machine and I have the will to be the best at everything I do…Will this fight solidify me as a world champion? Yes. Do I need that? Yes. Am I going to do it? Yes. That’s just a bonus.”
On how he would grade his last performance against Oscar Duarte
“I would give myself an A-. Only part I messed up was maybe staying in the pocket maybe a little too long. But other than that people like to make fun of the defense, I can show you a million videos of Mayweather turning his back. I could make a whole reel highlight of it. I don’t need to explain myself, I wasn’t getting hit. I got hit maybe one little thing, maybe two shots, a hook, but for the most part he was missing and it disrupted his rhythm.”
On how difficult of a fight he expects from Haney
“Not at all. Not complicated. I’ve been boxing my whole life, there’s nothing I’m going to see that I’ve not seen before so it’s not going to be complicated, it’s just I got to execute. You can’t have no mercy on Devin. That’s the problem Lomachenko had. Regis is just not a good fighter, he’s still an amateur in my opinion, you know, the way he fights. He started late, it’s showing that he started late. You’re not that guy, so I would knock him out within three rounds, sleep. It would be very bad for Regis.
“Devin’s going to get badly hurt. That’s why there’s not going to be a rematch.”
