Devin Haney played off his being booed by the fans during the Los Angeles press conference on Monday, saying that he’s playing the “villain” role for his fight against Jose Ramirez on May 2nd at Times Square in New York City.
(Credit: Golden Boy/ Cris Esqueda)
During the press conference, the former two-division world champion Haney got Ryan Garcia angry by telling the press conference monitor, Todd Grisham, that he was fighting a guy with PEDs in his system in his defeat last April at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Devin’s father, Bill Haney, is the one that is perfect for the villain, and you can argue that he’s been playing the role from the get-go. Today’s rant by Bill, in which he complained about Todd Grisham not smothering Devin with compliments during the press conference.
It was hilarious listening to Bill, and I wasn’t sure if it was an act. He looked dead serious. Bill sounded like he wanted Grisham to anoint Devin as the next King.
The ‘Bad Guy’ Plan
Devin was playing the villain role at that moment because he knew it would get a reaction from Garcia. It won’t matter that Haney gets fans to hate him because he’s still got to win for it to be effective.
Fans don’t pay attention to fighters that are getting beaten around the clock. Devin is coming off a loss to Ryan Garcia last April, and if he loses to Ramirez, that’ll be two in a row. Haney’s stock will continue to drop and his villain character will be pointless.
Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) was booed as he came out to the stage to sit down at the table. He wasn’t playing any role at that time. He’s seen as an outcast due to his lawsuit against Ryan Garcia. There was no acting on Devin’s part. He’s hated by many fans and seen as weak for that move.
“I always wanted to be the villain.. I’m okay with being the villain,” said Devin Haney to Ring Magazine, putting a positive spin on him being hated by many fans and being booed at Monday’s press conference in Los Angeles.
“It’s easier being the villain and it pays being the villain. That’s when Floyd [Mayweather] became a star when he became the villain. I think that’s where I become a massive star now that I’m crossing over. People want to see me lose now.
“They want to pay to see me lose. So. I’m happy. I was a good guy, but I was really a villain. I was secretly the bad guy, but I was acting like the guy,” said Haney.
Last Updated on 03/11/2025
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