LOS ANGELES – On Tuesday, Ryan Garcia officially kickstarted the promotional tour of his upcoming fight against Javier Fortuna on July 16.
Missing from the press conference was Fortuna, who opted to stay back training in Puerto Rico and instead fielded questions virtually with select media. Another principal figure missing from the media festivities was Golden Boy Promotions head Oscar De La Hoya.
Although a seven-foot-tall bronze statue of himself sat outside Star Plaza at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, the Hall of Fame fighter instead handled several media obligations earlier in the day nearby in his downtown headquarters.
In one specific interview, De La Hoya started promoting the possible sale of the boxing company he founded in 2002 to potential investors.
“I’m sitting on a billion-dollar company,” De La Hoya told ESPN. “And I can’t wait to get rid of it. And most importantly, I can’t wait to be the very first fighter ever to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as a promoter as well. These are goals that I have.”
“We’re sitting on a gold mine. When I’m ready to get out, the time will come. But in the meantime, that’s the reason I want to make these big fights happen. It’s crucial. It’s crucial for the sport. It’s crucial for my company. It’s crucial, most importantly, for the fan base.”
The big-time fight the 49-year-old De La Hoya was alluding to was a proposed November showdown pitting Garcia against Gervonta Davis.
“I’m ready to give Tank Davis a multi-multimillion-dollar [deal],” said De La Hoya. “I strongly feel that’s the fight to make. Those are the types of fights that make superstars.”
De La Hoya has been adamant to stage a joint pay-per-view with DAZN and Showtime.
The development of De La Hoya trying to sell Golden Boy dropped during the middle of a Garcia roundtable discussion involving BoxingScene.com and several other media outlets.
When Garcia was asked to share his thoughts about a potential sale involving Golden Boy, he appeared surprised and raised his eyebrows twice. He looked in the direction of his team, which included his parents Henry and Lisa Garcia as well as his advisor, Lupe Valencia.
Before Garcia could offer a response, Valencia quipped: “ask him how much – maybe we’ll buy it.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com.