By Mohamed Bahaa
Boxing champion Devin Haney recently came under fire after a video leaked showing him getting into a fight at the Orange County Fair. The 27-second clip, which originally went viral, shows Haney and a group of men attacking another person near one of the fair’s attractions. The details of the conflict are still unknown, just as the person’s name is still unclear.
In the clip, Haney is seen starting the physical altercation by throwing punches, and shortly after, his friends step in and continue the attack. Despite being outnumbered, the victim stays on his feet and tries to defend himself until police sirens in the distance cause Haney and his companions to flee.
The event garnered a lot of interest, especially from Haney’s competitors and boxing fans. In particular, Ryan Garcia, a currently suspended boxer, took to social media to mock Haney’s performance during the fight. Garcia said on X, “He couldn’t even knock a civilian to the ground.” He also attacked Haney’s behavior at the convention, pointing out the discrepancy between his behavior there and his self-proclaimed status as a role model. “You really beat somebody up while your whole team is knocking a guy down,” Garcia said.
Garcia’s comments were not limited to that, however. In a follow-up post, he asked how the boxing commission would react if a similar incident involving him was caught on video. He sarcastically said, “The thing is, he hits so softly that they might let it slide and call it an exhibition fight.”
Garcia, who defeated Haney in a match in Brooklyn on April 20, has been his own source of controversy. Garcia was stripped of his title by the New York State Athletic Commission after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance, a charge he denies. Garcia was also suspended for one year and fined $1.1 million. His problems continued after he was expelled from the WBC for making derogatory remarks about Muslims in internet posts and using racial slurs. He later made amends for those actions by vowing to seek treatment for substance abuse.
Boxing fans also debated the carnival incident. Many wondered if Haney’s punch had even landed. “Devin Haney was unable to take down or shake a fair worker with a sneaky punch,” noted one observer. Another added: “He didn’t even land, which may or may not be just as bad.”
Haney’s representatives have not yet responded to requests for comment on the incident.
