Oscar De La Hoya says he skipped Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn because he expected to be embarrassed.
Garcia stopped Benn in the second round in September to retain the WBC welterweight title at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Golden Boy Promotions co-promoted the event with Zuffa Boxing, but De La Hoya stayed away. Garcia later said he was disappointed his longtime promoter did not show up. A Golden Boy spokesperson then said Garcia’s team had withdrawn De La Hoya’s walkout invitation that morning, and Garcia confirmed it.
De La Hoya explained his absence to Fight Hub TV.
I wasn’t going to show up to be embarrassed. It was a Zuffa f—-ing event. A ‘Zuffa event,’ a ‘Turki event.’ I was not going to show up and be embarrassed, because that’s exactly what they were going to do to me.
Reports before the fight said De La Hoya was denied a ringside credential as co-promoter. Zuffa Boxing CEO Dana White denied those claims, but De La Hoya believes he was a target.
Oh yeah, so much s—- happened in those dealings, in those contracts, but let’s just say I’m glad I didn’t go because I was going to be set up.
He pointed to Teofimo Lopez, who was kept from entering the ring for a faceoff with Garcia after the fight.
It would have been embarrassing. It would have created distractions. It would have been a mess.
De La Hoya said his staff complained about how they were treated. He also took issue with Alexis Rocha vs. Jose Ramirez being placed second on the card.
Putting two world-class fighters in the start of the evening is not professional.
He believes the placement was intentional.
‘Oh, those are Oscar’s fighters, and they’re Golden Boy? Let’s put them first so nobody will see them.’ Absolutely. I’m not born yesterday. I know how this works.
De La Hoya and White have a long history of bad blood. Garcia has been rumored to make a move to Zuffa Boxing when his current deal with Golden Boy ends.
