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By: Sean Crose
“If you want to go to a Mets game, let me know because I’m throwing the first pitch.” So said Ryan Garcia on social media Tuesday. Things apparently didn’t go as planned. “The Mets just wasted three hours of our life,” Garcia posted later, “to say at the end we can’t throw the pitch for whatever reason. There was no reason and they kicked us out for no reason. I’m personally going to say “f–k the Mets! Don’t ever go to a f—–g Mets’ game again. F–k the Mets!” In truth, both Garcia and Devin Haney – the junior welterweight kingpin Garcia is set to fight this weekend at Brooklyn’s Barclay’s Center – were both supposed to throw out the ceremonial first pitch on Tuesday. It seems the Mets thought better of it.
Perhaps this was because of the fact that, earlier in the day, Haney pushed Garcia as the two stood for a photo shoot atop the Empire State Building. While such things are known to happen in the leadup to a major fight, Garcia’s unusual pre fight actions online have led a cloud of uncertainty to however over the event, which is scheduled to go down this Saturday night. With Garcia randomly weighing in on a seeming endless array of topics for weeks now, the push atop the famed skyscraper on Tuesday may have simply been the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back (Boxing Insider reached out to the Mets organization late Tuesday and will report on any response provided).
Although there were still seats available at the Barclay’s Center as of Thursday, there is little doubt that Haney-Garcia is one of the more high profile bouts to be found on boxing’s calendar so far this year. Haney is a master boxer who also knows how to entertain his audience. See his high octane battle with Vasyl Lomachenko last year to realize just how good the man is in high pressure situations. Yet though he may be widely favored to win this weekend, Haney may well be facing formidable competition come Saturday. For Garcia is very fast as has a left hook that can turn out the lights on most any fighter. On paper, it’s a very interesting matchup if not perhaps a superb one.
Pre fight actions, especially on the part of Garcia, however, may be threatening what could be a successful event. Haney-Garcia is a pay per view fight, after all, which means fans have to pay to watch, rather than stumble across it while flicking through the channels. Garcia argues people are making much ado about nothing in regard to his emotional state, and perhaps they truly are (professional boxers can be true masters when it comes to distracting their opposition before a major fight). It would be a shame, however, if this weekend’s bout became a little watched disappointment because of pre fight antics.
Tuesday’s push aside, Haney appears to be taking a low profile approach heading into Saturday. “Keeping my blinders on.. laser focused,” he posted on social media Wednesday.
Images: Golden Boy
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