The simmering beef between Ryan Garcia and Oscar De La Hoya boiled over on Thursday as the fighter and promoter tussled back and forth on Twitter, adding yet another chapter to their complicated relationship.
Earlier this week, Garcia (23-1, 19 KOs) stated that Gervonta Davis’ team cared more about him than his own team following his seventh-round knockout loss to Tank in April.
Following the fight, De La Hoya, Golden Boy cohort Bernard Hopkins, and former Garcia trainer Joe Goossen did not accompany the 25-year-old to his post-fight press conference. Instead, Garcia was joined by his father and co-trainer Henry, adviser Lupe Valencia as well as Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez as well as a Golden Boy public relations official.
De La Hoya caught wind of Garcia’s critical comments and clapped back.
“What the f— Ryan. It’s been almost two months and you’re still crying about the post-presser? The blame for your loss is on you and your ‘adviser’ Lupe. He is the only one who pushed you to accept that insane [136-pound catchweight and 10-pound] rehydration clause and that is the reason you lost. Man up. Own that,” wrote De La Hoya.
“Also, you keep saying ‘Tank’s team offered more support for you’ blah blah blah. Bro, they set you up to lose with that rehydration clause, and most importantly, [PBC head] Al Haymon didn’t even show up the entire week. Actually, he never shows up. How’s that for ‘support?’”
Garcia responded minutes later.
“Okay, buddy. You got it all figured out. I’m tired of you disrespecting my whole career, and you think none of it matters. Loyalty and common sense are lost in your head. Stop treating people that way and think they will just accept it.”
Garcia also took exception to De La Hoya getting cozy with potential future foe Rolando Romero over the weekend during a Golden Boy show in Indio, Calif. headlined by Alexis Rocha.
“You know I’m about to fight this guy [Romero]. And you go act buddy-buddy with him. You don’t care about your fighters. I’m really tired of this fake act! Stop the cap. Be real for once man. I can respect you more if you just told me the truth – you’re in it for the cash. No love lost,” wrote Garcia.
De La Hoya responded: “It’s called promoting. Who do you think sparked the fight week press conference [for the Davis fight] when it was like being at a funeral? My job is to promote; your job is to fight. No lost love.”
Garcia quipped back, “Weren’t you just promoting the fake [Manny Pacquiao] fight that I already told you I’m not accepting? Do you really think I’m going to fall for that bull twice?”
Earlier this week, after Garcia said he preferred to fight the likes of Romero, Isaac Cruz, and Teofimo Lopez Jr. at 140 pounds for his next fight, De La Hoya floated a potential Garcia-Pacquiao catchweight fight, and Garcia immediately shut it down once he got wind of it.
De La Hoya ended the Twitter exchange Thursday saying: “I’m not going to argue over social media. When you have time to sit down, man to man, we can get you another huge payday.”
A private sitdown between De La Hoya and Garcia will likely be required in order for both sides to air out their grievances and settle their feud.
The duo has previously repaired fractures in their relationships in order to work together.
Garcia and De La Hoya have publicly kept it cordial in recent years after lengthy unpleasant exchanges in 2019 and 2020.
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.