Undefeated world champion Devin Haney faces Ryan Garcia at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Saturday, April 20. The pair squares off in the 12-round bout with the WBC junior welterweight title on the line.
Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) of San Francisco makes the first defense of his WBC 140-pound belt that he claimed against Regis Prograis last December. Going up against LA-based once-beaten contender, Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs), the former undisputed lightweight champion is confident in his victory.
“Camp has been amazing,” Devin Haney said at a media workout on Friday in Los Angeles. “I’m in the zone – always. I’m obviously getting more adjusted to this new weight class – I am getting stronger, my mind is clear, I’m in the best shape physically, and I am just ready to go.”
“Not having to go down the extra five pounds has been a tremendous help for me. I had been at 135 for a long time. At 140, it just feels so different. My performance against Regis Prograis showed that.”
“At the end of the day, Ryan Garcia is going to say what he is going to say. No matter what, I am going to do my job to be the very best Devin Haney I can be. Whichever version of Ryan shows up on April 20, I will be ready for him. Ryan Garcia is just another opponent to me. I am in competition with greatness. That is why I train so hard, that is why I stay so disciplined.”
In the co-feature on the card, Arnold Barboza Jr (29-0, 11 KOs) of Long Beach, California faces Sean McComb (18-1, 5 KOs of Northern Ireland. The pair battles it out for the WBO Intercontinental super lightweight title.
Among Haney vs Garcia undercard bouts, Bektemir Melikuziev (13-1, 10 KOs) of Uzbekistan defends his his WBA Intercontinental super middleweight belt against Pierre Hubert Dibombe (22-0-1, 12 KOs) of France. LA’s John “Scrappy” Ramirez (13-0, 9 KOs) fights Costa Rica’s David Jimenez (15-1, 11 KOs) for the interim WBA super flyweight title. Plus, Charles Conwell (18-0, 13 KOs) of Cleveland Heights, OH meets Nathaniel Gallimore (22-7-1, 17 KOs) of Des Plaines, Illinois at super welterweight.