Bill Haney And Oscar De La Hoya Nearly Trade Blows At Fatal Fury Press Conference: Ryan Garcia And Teofimo Lopez Add Fuel To The Fire

Devin Haney’s father, Bill Haney, got into an argument with Ryan Garcia and his promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, during today’s Fatal Fury final press conference for Friday night’s card at Times Square in New York City.

(Credit: Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom.)

After Teofimo Lopez appeared to instigate a verbal exchange, De La Hoya got to his feet and stepped to Bill, looking like he was ready to fight. Security moved in quickly to prevent the two from throwing any blows.

Bill’s Worried Look

That might have been a good thing for Bill, because he had a worried look on his face. Taking on the 1992 Olympic gold medalist and former six-division world champion De La Hoya wouldn’t have ended well for Bill.

After today’s altercation, De La Hoya said he was surprised that Devin hasn’t fired Bill. He feels that he came close to ruining his career with the lawsuit last year, which hurt his popularity with fans almost as badly as his loss to Ryan. The two of those things combined took a lot of the shine away from Haney’s career.

De La Hoya has been openly critical of Bill Haney since his son, Devin, sued Golden Boy and Ryan Garcia following their fight last April.

“I can’t believe Devin Haney hasn’t fired his father. How is he still a manager to Haney? He basically almost ruined his career by suing this and that,” said Oscar De La Hoya to Fighthype about Devin Haney’s dad, Bill Haney. “His father is ruining his potential.”

It’s unlikely that Haney is going to fire Bill because he’s the one who has been managing him all along. However, if Devin loses his fight against Jose Ramirez on Friday in their co-feature bout, De La Hoya won’t have to worry about seeing him for a while. The planned rematch between Haney and Ryan in October could be canceled.

“I think it’s going to be a great fight between Ramirez. It’s going to be a tough fight,” said Oscar about Haney’s fight against Jose Ramirez on Friday. “I just do not understand being away for a year, getting knocked down several times by Ryan Garcia, what Devin Haney’s confidence level will be like on fight night. Ramirez is looking sharp, and he hits like a mule.

“We will see how Devin Haney reacts to a punch, and if he can overcome those obstacles he faced last year,” said De La Hoya.