NEW YORK \u2013 Jose Ramirez just welcomed a new baby boy into the world in January, naming him Jose Jnr, which is fitting considering the unanimous presence of strong-willed fathers connected to Friday\u2019s Times Square card.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll never disrespect the fathers,\u201d Ramirez said. \u201cI know some of them talk a little too much, but I\u2019m a father, too, and I know it hurts me every time he doesn\u2019t do well, every time he\u2019s hurting.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not easy for [boxing] fathers. They play the role when the cameras are on. But whatever the kids go through, it takes a father to be there properly for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Tuesday\u2019s public workouts, Henry Garcia and Bill Haney, the fathers of Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney, renewed acquaintances in a verbal battle after the elder Haney criticized Ryan Garcia\u2019s physique and more, and trainer-father Teofimo Lopez Snr accompanied his son to the ring, conducting a round of interviews supporting the WBO 140lbs titleholder.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father is always welcome,\u201d said two-division champion Lopez Jnr, 21-1 (13 KOs). \u201cHe\u2019s the one that just never quit on me. He believes in me way more than I did, and still is. You know, he says I could knock out Tyson Fury, so I\u2019ve gotta stay on that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s a blessing. I think that’s what it really is. You need someone that’s gonna give you that belief, and I\u2019m lucky enough to have my father be that person for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, I came from his nutsack for crying out loud, so I think that plays key to it. You know he’s not gonna turn around from you, and you know he\u2019ll never walk away from his child. I\u2019ve been grateful enough to have that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lopez\u2019s opponent, Arnold Barboza Jnr, 32-0 (11 KOs), is also trained by his father, a former Southern California gang member who set aside brushes with the law in his youth to find his calling, presiding over his son\u2019s unbeaten career that is now one triumph away from a world title.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dad is my hero with no cape,\u201d Barboza Jnr said. \u201cI look up to him because, from the background he came from, the life he had, he\u2019s admitted to his mistakes, still managed to take care of us and still keep us a family.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe weren\u2019t the richest, never had too much money growing up, but he made it work \u2013 got us what we needed \u2013 and I look up to that. He\u2019s the definition of a real man, someone I strive to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barboza Jnr said he and his father maintain a ritual of sorts. In the gym, boxing talk is unlimited. Outside the gym \u2013 over breakfast, lunch and dinner \u2013 boxing is off limits.<\/p>\n
\u201cOutside here, he\u2019s just my father,\u201d Barboza Jnr said.<\/p>\n
And that dynamic certainly exists in the cases of the Garcias and Haneys, too.<\/p>\n
When Ryan Garcia navigated a volatile lead-up to his showdown in April 2024 against Devin Haney in Brooklyn by drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana and coming in overweight before knocking down Haney three times in a victory that became a no-contest because he tested positive for the banned performance-enhancing drug ostarine, Bill Haney had a decision to make.<\/p>\n
The father\u2019s care exceeded the trainer-manager role when he oversaw a lawsuit against Garcia that included a battery claim that was highly chided in the industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat they did after the Garcia fight, only they know why,\u201d said the former unified 140lbs champion Ramirez, 29-2 (18 KOs), who will meet former two-division champion Devin Haney, 31-0 (15 KOs), in Friday\u2019s co-main event. \u201cI don\u2019t think the boxing world accepts actions like that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he would have taken the loss like a man \u2026 look at what Miguel Cotto did after [getting stopped by] Antonio Margarito. He could\u2019ve sued him for using illegal hand wraps. Instead, he took the rematch, got his glory back and so many more respected him for that.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I know it has to be tough on a father to watch his son go through something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bill Haney responded by saying that, ultimately, the lawsuit became a bargaining chip that was dropped to clinch a wanted rematch with Garcia that is due to occur later in 2025.<\/p>\n
And when others said the elder Haney was somewhat duped into taking a rugged return bout against the gritty Ramirez, he answered strongly again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could\u2019ve fought anybody,\u201d Bill Haney said. \u201cWe picked Jose Ramirez. That\u2019s what makes Devin elite. He pushes boundaries, and picking an opponent like Jose Ramirez proves Devin is the most accomplished, at age 26, of all the young champions, because he understands the boxing business, matchmaking and how to make the most money.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not stupid. I didn\u2019t want his return to be a fight against a nobody. What better way to get ready for a left hook than to fight Jose Ramirez, a [fighter] who throws it the right way? The clean way.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is about getting to the Mount Rushmore of boxing. We\u2019ve set out for Devin to join that fraternity. If they think we don\u2019t know who we\u2019re dealing with, then let the truth ring out, because they\u2019re setting themselves up to look stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n
There have been whispers during their careers that Haney and Lopez would split with their fathers, as did Hall of Famers including Floyd Mayweather Jnr and Shane Mosley.<\/p>\n
The round-the-clock relationship can feel excessive. At one point, the WBC flirted with the idea of banning fathers from serving as their sons\u2019 trainers because dads can often be too demanding and too insensitive to the damage of a hard fight.<\/p>\n
Garcia, 24-1 (20 KOs), for instance, begged Bill Haney to stop the fight after decking Devin Haney the third time. Garcia\u2019s main-event opponent on Friday, the former WBA 140lbs belt holder Rolando \u201cRolly\u201d Romero, 16-2 (13 KOs), knows the feeling, because he endured fierce pressure from his father, Rolando Snr, to become a fighter in his youth.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really hard on me growing up,\u201d Romero said of his father. \u201cFor the longest time, he was my worst enemy. The tragedy of our bond is that he wanted me to box and I didn’t want a box. I would’ve started boxing as a kid if it wasn\u2019t for him. \u2026 He\u2019d hit me if I didn\u2019t train, made me run barefoot on the hot streets of Las Vegas.\u201d<\/p>\n
The damage of that past slowly healed as the younger Romero embraced the talent his father saw in him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had to come to that realization on my own, that the only person who was ever there for me was him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Romero has since taken those skills to a pay-per-view bout against Gervonta Davis, a world title, and to a potentially epic evening atop the card in New York.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s my everything,\u201d Romero said of his father. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be the man I am today without him. You see my personality, you see who I am, my persona in the ring \u2013 that\u2019s not me, it\u2019s him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talk every day now, and I love that man more than anything. I let go of everything that happened to me in the past and I built a stronger bond with my father because of that.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis fight, it\u2019s not dedicated to him. It\u2019s dedicated to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Garcia, 26, has arrived for this fight far more focused and calm. The turning point that allowed him to conquer the demons that led to his arrest for vandalizing a hotel in Beverly Hills was rooted in a series of heart-to-heart conversations with his father Henry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe stayed close as a family,\u201d Henry Garcia said at a recent workout. \u201cThat was the key. Families can never stray far from each other. We had to stay there for him, because there were many things interfering with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe, as a family, kept it a small circle. I always tell people, \u2018I\u2019m a father before I\u2019m a trainer. Trainers come and go. Fathers are here to stay.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd whenever I talk to Ryan in a serious manner, he\u2019ll come to me and talk. I tell him, \u2018If there\u2019s anything you need answers for, consult with me. I\u2019ve been there. I\u2019ve been through all these turmoils, been through all these episodes, and I\u2019m here for you.\u2019 Kids go through journeys. Staying close together \u2013 communicating \u2013 makes all the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
One morning, after months of crazed living, Ryan came to his father and said: \u201cI don\u2019t want to drink anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
That moment of clarity has sustained. Garcia finds himself on the precipice of making himself the sport\u2019s most powerful pay-per-view draw.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you see drinking around you, it either tempts you or you have to stand your ground,\u201d Henry Garcia said. \u201cHe\u2019s standing his ground.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Garcia did that to Haney in his prior condition, Henry Garcia is thrilled to witness how his son will perform clean.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s going to continue where he left off,\u201d Henry Garcia said. \u201cHe\u2019s more focused, is well into his timing, and that, to me, means he\u2019s going to perform well.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is another positive stepping stone in the journey. You know where he\u2019s come from. You saw him. But he survived, the family kept him together, and now the chapter turns, and you\u2019re going to see some positive results.\u201d<\/p>\n
For good measure, Henry Garcia couldn\u2019t stop himself from standing up for his son after Bill Haney\u2019s shenanigans at Tuesday\u2019s workout.<\/p>\n
\u201cFathers are very emotional,\u201d Henry Garcia said. \u201cI try to stay as calm as possible. I have patience and composure, and that helps.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the end, it\u2019s those two. They\u2019re fighting. We\u2019re not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene\u2019s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers\u2019 Association of America\u2019s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK \u2013 Jose Ramirez just welcomed a new baby boy into the world in January, naming him…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64724,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4108],"tags":[31950,1935,23809,32437,23807,23806,22954,79,31951,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-64723","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-arnold-barboza","9":"tag-boxing","10":"tag-devin-haney","11":"tag-jose-ramirez","12":"tag-rolando-romero","13":"tag-rolly-romero","14":"tag-ryan-garcia","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-teofimo-lopez","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}