Plenty of opinions and excuses have been offered as to why Oscar De La Hoya did not attend the Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia post-fight press conference.
Floyd Mayweather—who was on the opposite side of the promotion—didn’t really care to join in on the conversation, even when asked for his thoughts on the matter. As is often the case with the Hall of Fame former five-division champ and boxing’s all-time box-office king, he limited his thoughts to what has driven his life decisions.
“I always spoke about loyalty,” Mayweather told a group of reporters at a press conference in Miami to otherwise formally announce his next exhibition bout. “Loyalty is a lifestyle, not an action.”
“We all approach things in a different way. I can say something negative. I can say something positive. When it’s all said and done, Oscar De La Hoya is not my promoter. He was once an opponent of mine. We all approach situations in a different way.
Baltimore’s Davis (29-0, 27KOs) enjoyed his greatest success on every level in and out of the ring as he knocked out Garcia (23-1, 19KOs) in the seventh round of their Showtime Pay-Per-View this past Saturday. The event produced a live gate of more than $22.8 million at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and reportedly generated north of $100 million in PPV revenue from more than 1.2 million units sold.
The event marked the first time in more than a year where Mayweather was on site.
The two previously had a falling out upon the expiration of Davis’ prior promotional contract with Mayweather Promotions, but the full team was gathered for the southpaw’s blockbuster win. Leonard Ellerbe, longtime CEO of Mayweather Promotions, reconnected with Davis prior to the boxer’s ninth-round stoppage of Hector Luis Garcia in January and served as Davis’ mouthpiece throughout this promotion.
Ryan Garcia met the press after the first defeat of his career, though only joined by a fraction of his team. De La Hoya, Golden Boy partner Bernard Hopkins and Joe Goossen—Garcia’s head trainer—were all noticeably absent from the function, though with varying excuses as to why they did not attend.
Mayweather was a visible presence on fight night at ringside, in the ring and by Davis’ side during the post-fight press conference. Davis was also joined by Ellerbe and his training team, including boxing lifetime long coaches Calvin Ford and Kenny Ellis.
While it’s easier to speculate considering their guy won, the sense was that Davis’ entire team would have been along for the ride as it has been throughout his career.
“Whether Tank was to win or he was on the other side and took a loss, I would’ve stood right there behind him,” insisted Mayweather. “It’s no different from when Tank vent out on social media. But I’m there. He’s young. If I’m with you, I’m with you through the good, the bad and the ugly.”
Mayweather retired from the ring for good in 2017 at a perfect 50-0, with 27 victories inside the distance. He has since embarked on a global exhibition tour, though his next stop is a return to the U.S. Mayweather’s seventh exhibition bout—and fifth in just more than a year—will come versus Long Island’s John Gotti III (2-0, 1KO) atop a Zeus Network Pay-Per-View event on June 11 from FLA Live Arena, home to the NHL’s Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Florida. The scheduled eight-round contest will not count against the ring record of either boxer.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox