Golden Boy President Eric Gomez says he and his team have formed a workable relationship with Ryan Garcia amid their ongoing litigation.
Earlier this summer, Golden Boy filed a lawsuit against Victorville, California’s Garcia to enforce their contract with the popular boxer, which was prompted by claims from Garcia’s legal counsel that the promotional company was in breach of their agreement. (Garcia and Golden Boy founder Oscar De La Hoya also had a very rancorous and public row.)
Despite the legal fracas, Garcia and Golden Boy have not let that get in the way of making fights.
Garcia—now under the tutelage of trainer Derrick James—is scheduled to make this 140-pound debut against Oscar Duarte on Dec. 12 at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
“It’s funny because, the best way to describe it, there were just some misunderstandings and communications breakdowns,” Gomez said on The 3 Knockdown Rule. “You know if you get together and talk and communicate, you’d be surprised how much you can get through to people and give your point of view and he gave his point of view.
“I think we’re at a place now where we can move forward and keep working. Look, we were able to get December done. And he wants to keep fighting and he wants to fight the best and we want to keep promoting his fights. So that’s what we’re going to do. Look, at the end of the day, he’s a professional, we’re professionals, Oscar’s a professional as well, and we can put all that stuff to the side and keep moving forward and do business.”
Gomez suggested the current dispute with Garcia stemmed from certain people whispering into Garcia’s ear.
Golden Boy, of course, is no stranger to legal quarrels with its star boxers. In 2020, longtime Golden Boy fighter Canelo Alvarez acrimoniously parted ways with the company after filing suit against them.
“Unfortunately, it’s part of our business,” Gomez continued. “When you do your job well, exceptionally well, it’s unfortunate because you build a guy and you make him a big star like we’d done with Ryan—and Oscar personally put him under his wing and pretty much on his back and used his influence, everything, our platform, Oscar’s brand, everything behind him and you’re always going to get the naysayers. You’re gonna get people from all walks of life.
“Now with social media, anybody can reach anybody. They can say all these things to these fighters and these fighters don’t have the time to verify everything.”
Sean Nam is the author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.