Ryan Garcia claims he caused Devin Haney to lose his hearing when they fought as amateurs in 2014.
The pair reportedly competed against each other six times in the unpaid ranks, with the series split at three a piece.
Now, they are set to continue their rivalry as professionals when they go toe-to-toe for the WBC super-lightweight title at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, New York on April 20.
Throughout the build-up to their upcoming clash, there have been a lot of claims thrown around by both men about their amateur bouts – particularly from Garcia who insists he ‘burst Haney’s eardrum’ when they fought in the semi-finals of the USA Junior Olympic National Championships in 2014.
“We were at the Junior Olympic Nationals, we were about 14, 15”, Garcia told DAZN. “I went at him right away, and I had him hurt and wobbling in the middle of the ring. Everybody’s going crazy.
“One of his people in his corner came up to my dad after the fight, and he said, ‘Devin thinks you broke his eardrum because he can’t hear at all’. They wanted to stop the fight.”
Garcia added that he believes Haney and his team have edited videos of their fights.
“That’s just one example of what I’ve done to him, and he never gave me an eight count,” Garcia said. “They literally cut the video they were showing.”
The only footage out there of them boxing one another is from their 2014 U.S. National Junior Championships final, where Haney got his hand raised on points.
Speaking about that fight, Garcia continued: “He actually got a point taken away for hitting me in the back of the head and still won.”
“That means he would have had to kill me all [of] the rounds. They probably robbed me in that fight, but it’s all good. I don’t even care.”
BoxRec lists four of their fights on their database, leaving two unaccounted for.
The first bout that is recorded by BoxRec happened in 2012 at Oxnard P.A.L and was won by Garcia via unanimous decision.
Haney avenged that defeat at the Junior Nationals in January 2014 but lost to Garcia on a split later that year at the Junior Olympic Nationals.
The last time they fought was in January 2015 in the quarterfinals of the USA Youth National Championships.
Haney won the contest via unanimous decision over three rounds.
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News Summary:
- Ryan Garcia ‘broke Devin Haney’s eardrum’ in ill-disciplined amateur fight
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