Ryan Garcia is willing to do whatever it takes to beat Devin Haney on Saturday night, including breaking the rules.
Haney and Garcia did not mince their words throughout the preparation.
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Before fight night, both men threatened to “kill each other” in the ring and their bitter feud continued days before they faced off at the Barclays Center in New York.
During Wednesday night’s open workout, Garcia launched into an abusive tirade, during which he threatened to “bite Haney’s ears off,” Mike Tyson style.
“I’m going to kill him. I don’t care what happens in that ring,” Garcia told the DAZN broadcast team.
“If he doesn’t go away face first, then I’ve done something wrong.
“If I have to elbow that bastard, break his shoulders, then I will.
“If I have to rip both ears off, I will.”
Concerns have been raised about Garcia’s mental well-being after a litany of bizarre social media posts in recent weeks, ranging from conspiracy theories to a video claiming he was dead.
Mauricio Sulaiman informed talkSPORT.com last month that the WBC, which is sanctioning the fight, was in direct talks with the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) regarding Garcia.
The NYSAC then requested that he undergo a mental health evaluation ahead of his WBC welterweight world title fight.
Garcia says he passed those tests “with flying colors” and was officially cleared to fight.
“I was mentally evaluated on a Zoom call by the New York commission and passed with flying colors,” he added.
“And then they said all your tests were perfect, you had no drugs in your system, you were perfectly fine.”
When asked if his recent social media activity was just a “big sell,” Garcia said, “No. These are important things that I am very serious about.
“But then again, I’m also in the middle of promoting a fight, so damn, if it sells, it sells.
“At the end of the day, I know what I’m doing.”
Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia will be live on talkSPORT starting at 4 a.m. Sunday morning.
