Oscar De La Hoya and Ryan Garcia’s up-and-down relationship seems to have taken yet another turn.
Garcia told Uncrowned this past week that his relationship with his promoter, Golden Boy’s De La Hoya, remained strained and he was disappointed with De La Hoya’s public comments putting down Garcia’s Sept. 12 WBC welterweight title defense against Conor Benn.
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Since Garcia made those statements, though, De La Hoya said the parties have apparently mended fences.
“We had a talk the other day — it’s great,” De La Hoya said of his relationship with Garcia on Monday’s “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “It’s good. We had a discussion the other day, and I know he said a couple things on [‘The Ariel Helwani Show’ last Monday] and this and that, but we talked to each other — everything is great.
“He called for a meeting, for a sit-down conversation, which I gladly accepted,” De La Hoya continued. “I mean, he’s a Golden Boy fighter. And so, yeah, we just worked things out once again. [We said,] ‘Hey, let’s be clear here. Let’s make sure we don’t talk s*** to each other. Let’s make sure that we make the biggest events happen,’ and I was all for that obviously.
“I’m a promoter. I want to make sure this big fight is the biggest it can be, and I want to make sure that Ryan Garcia is clear-headed enough to go out there and knock out Conor Benn.”
Garcia and De La Hoya have been at odds on multiple occasions in the past, though each time the pair have claimed to work through their differences and continued their business partnership. But how many times can a relationship fracture and be repaired before the damage becomes permanent — if it isn’t already?
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De La Hoya told Uncrowned that after Garcia faces Benn on Sept. 12 in Las Vegas, the welterweight champ has just one fight remaining on his Golden Boy contract. Considering that Garcia’s last two bouts have been on Turki Alalshikh shows and Alalshikh works heavily with Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing, some have raised questions about whether Zuffa is a natural landing spot for Garcia once his Golden Boy deal expires.
De La Hoya acknowledged he won’t be surprised if Garcia is a target for Zuffa Boxing.
“They’re coming after everybody,” De La Hoya said. “These guys are, like I said [on my ‘Clapback Thursday’ social media post], they’re the Trojan Horse, and just watch out. Trust me, just watch out. They are the Trojan horse, and the rest is history from there.”
Oscar De La Hoya and Ryan Garcia continue to have one of boxing’s rockiest promoter/fighter relationships.
(Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy via Getty Images)
Zuffa, after all, is the lead promoter for Garcia vs. Benn — a promotion that De La Hoya is already finding himself left out of.
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“How f***ing petty are these guys not to include me [in the launch press conference] and make sure I’m not on stage? What, are they afraid that I’m going to sock Dana in the nose? Of course I’m going to be there. Of course I’m going to be promoting it,” De La Hoya insisted. “Ryan Garcia — everybody knows — he’s my fighter, he’s under Golden Boy.
“We’re looking forward to a big, massive event. I believe the other day Turki Alalshikh said that $6 million plus [worth of tickets] have already been sold, so yeah, it’s going to be a big event, so I’m really looking forward to being a part of it.”
The Garcia-Benn kickoff press conference was held at Fanatics Fest in New York earlier this month. The only boxer showcased at Fanatics Fest not to be signed with Zuffa Boxing was Garcia — although he was advertised under the same banner.
“I wasn’t even aware of [the Garcia-Benn press conference], and that’s what they do,” De La Hoya said of Zuffa Boxing. “That’s what these people do. They try to slip by one under me. I really do believe they are trying to keep me away from Dana, because they know what’s going to happen.”
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“Obviously I’m not going to punch anybody, but they’re trying to keep everything from me, and they all know Ryan Garcia is a Golden Boy fighter and this is a Golden Boy event, and this is [only] a Zuffa event [as well] because Turki bought the event and he included Zuffa because obviously Conor is a Zuffa fighter now. Let’s all work together and everything will be fine. Don’t be afraid.”
De La Hoya insists his relationship with Garcia has been repaired, yet Golden Boy’s diminishing role in Garcia’s career suggests their latest reconciliation may be arriving just as the Garcia/Golden Boy partnership approaches its end. Garcia himself told Uncrowned this past week that he will look to move on from Golden Boy after completing his contract.
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