Boxing legend Bernard Hopkins was a noticeable figure in a video as the Ryan Garcia vs Devin Haney verdict got read out on Saturday night.
Hopkins, the oldest-ever world boxing champion in history and Golden Boy Promotions partner – walked across the ring shouting ‘Allahu Akbar,’ in reference to Haney’s faith.
“The Dream” is a devout Muslim and makes no secret of that fact. The fact Hopkins sarcastically made the statement – despite being a Muslim himself – as Haney lost for the first time proves how much bad blood exists surrounding the event.
Hopkins has been involved in several spats with Bill Haney, even before the fight was signed. “B-Hop” even got physical with Haney at one point when ringside at
In a clip captured by FightHub TV at the Vergil Ortiz vs Fredrick Lawson fight, Hopkins can be heard saying, “Let’s go to the bathroom. I want to talk to you in the bathroom. Seriously.”
“Why don’t we talk right here?” – replied Haney, obviously not wanting to get into a private confrontation with a former professional boxer. He added: “You talk when you made at. You talk, and you have to respect that. Then you talk where you want to talk.”
Later, Bill walked past Hopkins and said: “You go my way, you go my way. Devin Haney is the best fighter in the world.”
The animosity goes back further than January and may have more history to come. Garcia defeated Haney via majority decision, which, in reality, only serves to make rematch calls stronger.
The Fight of the Year contender saw a media explosion on Saturday night into Sunday as fans keep their fingers crossed that a second encounter comes off by 2025.
Garcia has several options after pummeling his way into the Pound for Pound Top 10, with a move up to welterweight or at least a catchweight, set to be his next move.
Haney, who was visibly drained at the weigh-in and has been for his past few scalings, could also benefit from not boiling down again despite Garcia purposely not attempting to get down to 140 pounds.
The rivalry is power vs boxing skills, which is a classic by nature. Therefore, Haney will have to adapt better than he did in the first fight when the next installment goes down.
One constant that will be there through it all is Bernard Hopkins.
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
