Ever since Ryan Garcia lost to Gevonta Davis on April 22, Garcia and promoter Oscar De La Hoya have been embroiled in a beef that has spilled into both social media, and more seriously, with legal filings last month.
The strained relationship seemingly surfaced minutes after Garcia was knocked out by a body shot when De La Hoya skipped on attending the post fight press conference. The Hall of Fame fighter claimed he was receiving death threats. Garcia went on to say that Tank’s team cared about him more than his own.
On Wednesday, De La Hoya opened up about the alienated relationship he has with the star prizefighter he promotes.
“We have a lawsuit right now. I’m not suing him for money. He’s not suing me for money. I just want him to honor my contract. That’s it,” De La Hoya said in an interview with Ariel Helwani on “The MMA Hour.”
“Just honor the contract; that’s it. You have obligations. I want [Garcia] to fight, I want [Garcia] to be a legend. Do you think I wanted him to fight Tank Davis with a rehydration clause? Hell, no. I’m looking out for him, but he has people whispering in his ear. ‘Oh, Oscar is bad. Oh, go with this other promoter, who will take care of you more. You’ll make more money.’ Well guess what? Ryan just made $30 million-plus dollars [for the Davis fight]. I’m not doing anything wrong here. I’m trying to create a legend. What better person than me to guide [Garcia’s] career, to mold [him] into this superstar boxer who people will respect? But all these whispers, man. All these whispers.”
De La Hoya said the feud has become public largely due to the fact that he’s not able to speak to Garcia directly.
“Well, look, people have kept me away from him,” said De La Hoya.
Helwani then asked: “You can’t call him up? Do you think it could get fixed if you guys had a face-to-face?”
De La Hoya answered, “I don’t know. I don’t think so.”
De La Hoya said he was bummed that his relationship with Garcia has reached this point, but added that he’s not taking it personally.
“Bob Arum once told me, ‘Oscar, you’re going to be disappointed, and they’re going to break your heart,’ meaning fighters, So don’t take it personally,” said De La Hoya.
“Look, I’m a promoter, and I’m going to be a promoter until I’m Bob Arum’s age. I love the sport. I love boxing. It gave me everything I have. I hate it, but I love it, and fighters come and go.”
De La Hoya said he will “absolutely” be promoting Garcia’s next fight, whenever that may be, and squashed the thought of a separation.
“I still have several years in his contract,” said De La Hoya.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.