Devin Haney has 'lost a lot of respect' for Ryan Garcia ahead of their grudge match in Brooklyn... but the super-lightweight champion is not entertaining his erratic behavior: 'I don't care for him whatsoever'

Amidst the chaos spiraling out of control in the opposite corner, an unperturbed Devin Haney is only focused on doing what he does best: winning.

The eyes of the world have not been on Haney, one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in boxing today, over the past few months as he gears up for the first defense of his WBC super-lightweight crown. Instead, he has been able to fade into the background and quietly ply his trade while his troubled opponent unravels for all to see.

Ryan Garcia already had the odds stacked against him heading into this date of destiny with his former amateur rival, who has enjoyed a steeper ascent as a professional following six even battles in the unpaid ranks. 

Now, after weeks of disturbing outbursts which have thrown the fight into question amid fears over his mental health, it is tough to afford Garcia any more than a puncher's chance with the spotlight shining down on him like never before.

Yet Haney has not gained any confidence from his opponent's erratic behavior as he closes in on his next mission. 'I don't look that deep into it,' he tells Dailymail.com. 

'Imma let him do whatever he wants to do and just continue to focus on me. Keep preparing, keep my blinders on, keep tunnel vision and let him do whatever he wants to do.

Devin Haney has been quietly going about his business in the background in recent months

This weekend Haney is set to defend his WBC super-lightweight title against Ryan Garcia

Garcia has raised concerns with a host of disturbing outbursts in the lead-up to the fight

Some have called for the 25-year-old to be pulled out of his world-title challenge on Saturday

Haney says he has 'lost a lot of respect' for his former amateur rival heading into their clash

'I don't see it as an advantage or a disadvantage. Ryan Garcia is just another opponent for me, he's just another person on my resume. And no matter what he does, it won't change the outcome of the fight.'

There aren't enough hours in the day to list the endless claims, all of which remain unproven, that Garcia has made since a concerning online post at the start of March claimed he was dead after having his 'throat slit'. Many have called for the 25-year-old to be saved from himself and pulled out of his clash with Haney as a result.

Somehow, the bigwigs behind it have weathered that storm and we still appear to have a fight on our hands this Saturday in Brooklyn. Four days out from their grudge match the pair went face to face for one of the final times at the top of the Empire State Building, where an unsavory build-up marred by accusations of racism and drug taking escalated once more when Haney shoved Garcia by the throat following a jibe about his mother.

'I don't care for him whatsoever,' Haney says about his bitter feud with Garcia. 'He's done a lot of things during this build-up and I've lost a lot of respect for him.

'But at the end of the day, when I go in that ring it won't change the outcome, it won't change what I'm gonna do. It doesn't matter whether we like each other or not.'

After winning all 31 of his professional bouts and becoming a two-weight world champion in the process, for Haney the 32nd is a foregone conclusion this weekend.

At 25 years old he has already claimed honors in multiple divisions while Garcia only just gears up for his first bona fide title shot. He has already beaten a handful former world champions and remained undefeated while his old nemesis, whose greatest test to date ended in defeat against Gervonta Davis, awaits an elite-level scalp.

And Haney is adamant that he only has to look out for one obvious danger when they meet again in the Big Apple.

Haney has reached the higher heights as a pro after winning world titles in two weight classes

Garcia is yet to taste world glory and lost his only elite-level test against Gervonta Davis

For Haney this weekend's grudge match in Brooklyn is somewhat of a foregone conclusion

He collided with Garcia six times as an amateur, with the pair winning three bouts each

'I've got so much better since the amateurs, so those fights are just history between us,' he insists. 'They don't matter at the end of the day. This is the fight that matters and this is the fight where I've now got so much better and grown into the much better pro. It's up to me to show how much better of a pro I am than Ryan. 

'Every fighter has two hands obviously, but his bread and butter he lives by is the left hook. Once you take the left hook away from him he has nothing really left, he gets confused.

'I think Ryan is a C+ fighter and I'm an A+ fighter, so it's a mismatch. But that's for me to go and show, to show that I'm levels above him and he's not on my level.'

Haney, backed by his outspoken father and trainer Bill, already stands tall as one of the best in the world seven months before his 26th birthday.

His first world-title triumph at lightweight came before he had even turned 21, when he cruised to victory against Alfredo Santiago in his 24th bout, and three years later the boy from Oakland, California, conquered that division entirely after consecutive whitewashes over George Kambosos Jr on away turf in Australia truly announced him on the world stage.

Controversy then followed in a challenge rightfully billed as the most difficult of his career to date against pugilistic master Vasiliy Lomachenko. At the end of 12 fascinating rounds, Haney's hand was raised to much dismay in the Lomachenko camp and across the world. Many felt he was a lucky man.

However, after snatching victory from the jaws of defeat in Las Vegas, he made much easier work of Regis Prograis to become a champion at 140lbs in December, dropping the former light-welterweight chief on his way to the simplest of points wins.

Haney has gone on to reach higher heights as a pro, conquering the lightweight division in his early 20s with consecutive wins over George Kambosos Jr

Sweeping up all the marbles at 135lbs on away turf in Australia announced him to the world

Those trips Down Under were followed by a controversial win over Vasiliy Lomachenko

But he was able to use the criticism as fuel to power him to victory against Regis Prograis

'With the Loma fight, so many people were criticizing and saying I lost the fight. That was the motivation going into the Regis fight, to put on a dominant performance and use that as fuel. And that's what I did,' Haney recalls.

'They're gonna always say something regardless. After this fight when I put Ryan down they're gonna still say something. 

'But at the end of the day, if you're all speed then they're gonna say you have speed but you don't have punch power. If you have punch power they're gonna say you have punch power but you don't have speed or you don't have feet or whatever it may be. So they're gonna say something regardless.'

Using this negativity as a source of motivation, as an added incentive to silence the doubters, is a common tool used by the greats of the sport, says Haney. 'They feed off the criticism and the non-believers. It makes them go harder, and that's me. 

'It makes me go even harder and makes me want to turn the non-believers to believers.'

Even as a two-weight champion, he still looks up to the icons that have preceded him. Sugar Ray Leonard, Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali and Floyd Mayweather are the first that come to mind.

This weekend Haney is an overwhelming favorite to retain his WBC title against Garcia

The boy from Oakland, California, has ambitions to become an all-time great in the sport

Some fighters want to be remembered for mixing it with the very best and never shirking a challenge when they eventually bow out from the sport. Others want to be involved in all-time epic wars that live long in the memory. 

But Haney's sole interest is racking up the Ws and earning himself a place in the history books alongside the past heroes he grew up idolizing.

'I wanna be mentioned with the greats when it's all said and done,' he says. 'Obviously I wanna make a lot of money, I wanna be able to feed my family and make generational wealth. But I also wanna be mentioned with the greats and be remembered forever in the sport of boxing.

'So when they talk about boxing, they talk Devin Haney.'