To say that Oscar De La Hoya is a divisive figure would be a big understatement. The former elite boxer turned himself into one of the most prominent promoters in the sport in his post-fighting career. Along the way, he hasn’t made a ton of friends, particularly among his fellow promoters, but also with his own fighters at time.
He hasn’t made it easy on himself, as his public spat with Ryan Garcia has affected his image as much as his random Instagram rants that can be directed towards anyone, although Matchroom Boxing chairman Eddie Hearn has been a frequent target. With Dana White coming in to the sport thanks to help from Turki Alalshikh, it has created the potential for another feud target for De La Hoya. In fact, De La Hoya had already called out White in the past, before this even happened.
Oscar De La Hoya was “offended” by something Turki Alalshikh said about Dana White
White coming into his territory hasn’t sat well with De La Hoya, though. And it was something that White’s partner said that rubbed him the wrong way.
I did hear that [Turki] passed over the reins of boxing to Dana White. That comment to me, I felt a little offended. I’ve been in boxing all my life. I’ve been promoting for 20-some-odd years… And nobody’s going to touch me there, because we are the best developers in the fight game and we take our fighters to championship levels and super-stardom, like we have with Canelo and Ryan Garcia.
De La Hoya is proud of what Golden Boy Promotions has accomplished. Although he didn’t like Alalshikh’s comment, De La Hoya took the high road by saying he’s going to “stick in my lane and I’m going to work with Turki Alalshikh because it has been very positive“.
A new power player in boxing isn’t what De La Hoya needs, but competition in the promoting space tends to bring about bigger events. After all, that’s what Alalshikh has wanted all along since joining the industry.
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