We now have more clarity on what was said in this week's fiery-hot exchange between promoter Oscar De La Hoya and manager Bill Haney – and according to investigative and forensic lip reader Nicola Hickling, the brouhaha centered around both men questioning the other's credibility.
Hickling said in a Covers exclusive that De La Hoya, an 11-time former world champion fighter, appears to defend his promotion while attacking Haney's credibility, while Haney fires back by accusing De La Hoya of being out of touch and having no fighters left. The two nearly came to blows over the argument, with footage of the showdown quickly going viral.
Key Takeaways
💢 De La Hoya rips Haney's son: "(He) don't wanna fight nobody!"
💢 Haney lashes back: "Don't nobody wanna be with Golden Boy no more!"
💢 The two managers nearly exchange punches at heated newser
The blow-up happened as both men attended a news conference for The Ring's Fatal Fury: Times Square, which takes place Friday in the heart of Manhattan.
The four-fight card includes Ryan Garcia – one of the stalwarts of De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions – taking on Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero for the WBA welterweight title in the main event, and Haney's son Devin tangling with Jose Ramirez in the co-feature.
Haney, De La Hoya have history
Garcia and Haney are no strangers to one another, having battled to a controversial result that clearly has both camps enraged more than a year later.
Garcia, who missed weight and was therefore ineligible to win the WBC super lightweight title, earned a majority decision win over Haney, knocking his opponent down multiple times. But the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association revealed 11 days later that Garcia had tested positive for the banned substance ostarine; the fight was subsequently reclassified as a no-contest, and the New York State Athletic Commission suspended Garcia for one year and fined him more than $1 million.
Friday marks Garcia's first fight post-suspension – and if the Fatal Fury news conference is any indication, his next bout might just be against an unbeaten and deeply motivated Haney, who is a massive -1,200 favorite to prevail vs. Ramirez (+680).
De La Hoya to Haney: "Your son don't wanna fight nobody!"
Hickling acknowledges that tensions were high throughout the exchange.
"There’s a lot of overlapping yelling, but the tone is confrontational with both men accusing the other of fear, irrelevance, and failure in the boxing world," Hickling told Covers. "Oscar appears to defend his promotion while attacking Bill’s credibility, and Bill fires back by accusing Oscar of being out of touch and having no fighters left."
Hickling went on to share the specifics of the exchange based on reading both De La Hoya and Haney's lips:
Bill Haney: "You had your shot! You had your shot and you blew it!" (Repeats with rising intensity)
Oscar De La Hoya: "Your son don’t wanna fight nobody!" (He then adds, "Scared to fight the best!")
Bill Haney: "Don’t nobody wanna be with Golden Boy no more!"
Oscar De La Hoya: "You’re washed up! You and your whole team!”
The two then stand up, with De La Hoya bristling from something Haney said. After saying "What?" twice, he unbuttons his jacket and steps toward Bill before spouting, "You had your shot ... what you got?"
The camera cuts to Haney, who, though not directly facing the lens, waves his hand as if beckoning Oscar to come closer.
Oscar presses on: “You’re washed up… come on, it’s time to play.”
Bill calmly returns to his seat, muttering: “You had a shot.”
