It’s been well over a year now that the relationship between Ryan Garcia and Oscar De La Hoya has been strange, to say the least. In theory, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise given both Garcia and De La Hoya have carefree attitudes and somewhat oversized egos. That combination is not ideal when De La Hoya is Garcia’s promoter, and it has led to some peculiar decisions.
Before Garcia’s December 2023 fight against Oscar Duarte, the boxer literally accused Golden Boy Promotions of supporting his opponent over him. That led to months of bickering and a PR war between the fighter and promotion company. A few months later, it seemed the two ironed out their differences, and they were able to secure a massive fight for Garcia against Devin Haney. We all know what happened after that: Garcia losing his mind on social media and a one-year suspension.
The drama escalated once again just a couple of weeks ago, when De La Hoya put out a statement claiming that Garcia’s exhibition bout against Rukiya Anpo on December 30 needs the go-ahead from Golden Boy in order to happen. That has yet to come, but Garcia is training as if he is going to fight.
Oscar De La Hoya wants Ryan Garcia to fight Teofimo Lopez
Instead of signing off on the Anpo fight, De La Hoya seems to have other plans in mind. With Garcia’s return from suspension nearing in April, the Golden Boy promoter took to X on Wednesday night and came up with a solution for Garcia: fighting Teofimo Lopez.
De La Hoya sees it as an easy way to make a lot of money given the two boxer’s starpower. Fans also loved the idea, with many quoting his post and saying it would be a “great fight“.
Teofimo Lopez is currently on a bit of a hiatus at the moment. After a premature – and mostly fake – retirement in 2023, Lopez came back to fight twice in 2024. He defended his WBO and The Ring light welterweight titles against Jamaine Ortiz and Steve Claggett. He’s been holding out for a big fight, and Garcia would definitely qualify.
Read the full article here
