LIFE'S A PITCH
Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney denied throwing Mets first pitch due to security fears after Empire State Building fight
Garcia has taunted the Mets, even suggesting support for their rivals
BOXING stars Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney were denied the chance to pitch at a New York Mets game at the last minute due to security fears.
The pair are meeting in a World Boxing Council super-lightweight title fight on Saturday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City.
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One of their promotional appearances in this busy week came at the Empire State Building, and it soon turned into an ugly affair.
A shirtless Garcia repeatedly asked Haney, “Who’s your punk, b***h?”
Haney proceeded to shove Garcia, and the two had to be separated.
It's not that surprising to see an attempt to raise hype ahead of this weekend's showdown between the pair, especially with ticket sales reported to be slow.
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From the top of Empire State, the roadshow was expected to roll along to the Major League Baseball game between the New York Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Both boxers were due to throw out the first pitches at the game.
Garcia's camp said their man had already thrown warm-up pitches and met a number of Mets players.
But the Mets decided at the last minute that the pitches would not go ahead, apparently concerned about another altercation following the unsavory scenes at Empire State.
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Sports Illustrated journalist Chris Mannix reported on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, that the Mets did not want an incident to unfold at their stadium.
"Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia were scheduled to throw out the first pitch of Mets-Pirates," he wrote.
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"Mets officials pulled the plug on it after the fighters arrived, I'm told by sources w/direct knowledge, because they didn't want to risk an incident on the field.
"Haney and Garcia scuffled at the Empire State Building earlier today."
A clearly furious Garcia posted a video on X to give his reaction to the late change of plan.
"Just wasted three hours of our lives to say at the end we can’t throw the pitch for whatever reason," he said.
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"There was no reason, they kicked us out for no reason.
“F**k the Mets. Don’t ever go to a f**king Mets game again. F**K the Mets."
He later posted another complaint, saying, "Mets let Haney in with 12 goons and I could only bring in 1 security and 2 of my film crew."
And then he did something that would have really gone down badly with Mets fans, referencing their rivals the New York Yankees by simply posting, "GO YANKEES."
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Champion Haney is the favorite to win this weekend's fight.
As amateurs, they fought each other six times, earning three wins each.