With all the drama that has been brewing in the lead-up to the Ryan Garcia vs. Devin Haney fight, some would say Garcia is the king of publicity stunts. However, Bill Haney has bestowed that crown on someone else entirely, and it’s none other than Shakur Stevenson. Not long ago, Garcia’s bizarre and unhinged tweets brought up some concerns among fans. 

People even believed Garcia’s mental and emotional breakdown would prevent him from fighting Haney on April 20 at Barclays Stadium in Brooklyn, New York. Stevenson saw this as an opportunity to swoop in and take the bag for himself by offering to replace ‘King Ry.’ Alas, Stevenson failed in that mission, as the Haney corner deemed him unworthy of the fight. So, speaking about Stevenson’s offer yesterday in an interview, Haney Sr. branded Stevenson the king of publicity stunts. 

Bill Haney suggests Shakur Stevenson is all bark and no bite!

During yesterday’s face-off between Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney in the Empire State Building in Manhattan, New York, Fight Hype caught up with Bill. When asked whether they ever considered Stevenson’s offer, Bill said, “Just like he turned down the fight on social media. He called for the fight on social media. He does a lot on social media—you know what I mean.”

It’s worth mentioning that Stevenson and Haney were in talks to fight last year, but Haney offered Stevenson a 25% share of the purse, which Stevenson refused to accept. Regardless, Bill then added, “I told you before that there’s publicity stunts, and then there’s publicity stunters. He’s [a] King stunter because everything that he does is on social media.”

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By the looks of things, Bill Haney doesn’t trust a word that comes out of Stevenson’s mouth. Even when Stevenson offered to replace Garcia, Haney sang a similar song!

Haney Sr. isn’t buying what Stevenson is selling

After Shakur Stevenson defeated Regis Prograis in one of the worst fights in boxing history, the undefeated boxer found himself unable to secure an opponent. Even when he generously offered to replace Garcia at the last moment, Bill came out with a harsh reality check. He said, “It’s not that I would never entertain a fight between him and Devin; that’s completely false, completely untrue.”

However, “What I will never do is think that Shakur Stevenson’s word in business means anything when he’s talking to me…,” Bill continued. Unfortunately for Stevenson, Haney Sr. wasn’t done spitting facts. “Buddy, he ain’t fought [anybody]. He hasn’t fought anybody that we’re not going to beat,” said Bill. 

In a nutshell, there was no way Haney’s corner would have accepted Shakur Stevenson as a replacement for Ryan Garcia. That’s mainly because Haney claims Stevenson’s offer was just a baseless statement. What do you think about Bill’s statement? Do you think Stevenson’s offer to replace Garcia was a publicity stunt like Stevenson’s retirement?