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Oscar De La Hoya is sticking to his version of the truth of why Jaime Munguia’s next fight is against anyone other than Jermall Charlo.
As has been reported at length, the anticipated WBC middleweight title fight was agreed upon by both boxers only to fall apart over a network dispute. Showtime was prepared to carry the event as part of its spring and early summer schedule, only for Golden Boy Promotions and Zanfer Boxing—Munguia’s co-promoters—to insist that DAZN be involved in the fight.
“In terms of Charlo, we were ready to make the fight,” Oscar De La Hoya claimed during a press conference to otherwise discuss this weekend’s clash between Munguia and England’s Jimmy ‘Kilrain’ Kelly. “We were ready to do whatever it takes to get Jaime Munguia the fight that he wants. The fight that everyone has been asking for. “Obviously, one thing about Charlo and the whole PBC stable is they hide behind Al Haymon. That’s the bottom line.
“We don’t want to make ordinary fights. We want to make the best fights. When our fighters are ready, we want to make the fights with the very best. I’m hoping Charlo grows some balls and tells his management team, “I want to fight Jaime Munguia. I want to fight the very best.”
For now, both went their separate ways.
Tijuana’s Munguia (39-0, 31KOs)—a former WBO junior middleweight titlist—is set to fight Kelly (26-2, 10KOs) in a super middleweight bout this Saturday on DAZN from Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The bout is his fourth in just 51 weeks.
Houston’s Charlo (32-0, 22KOs)—who has fought just once during that same span—was due to face Poland’s Maciej Sulecki on June 18 at Toyota Center in his hometown, only to reportedly suffer a back injury which canceled the entire event.
According to De La Hoya, there remains hope to revisit those plans after Saturday’s main event. What the Hall of Fame former six-division titlist and head of Golden Boy Promotions would like to see moving forward is greater cooperation from both platforms.
“That’s the fight we want to make. That’s the type of fight that the boxing fans need,” De La Hoya insisted. “I’m never going to exclude my TV partner DAZN from any type of negotiations. Meet us [halfway]. We can walk across the street. Meet [halfway] in the middle of the street. Whatever it takes.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox