Stay Connected
Boxing

“I Can’t Wait To Get Rid Of It” | Is Oscar De La Hoya Attempting To Make One Last Big Fight To Sell Golden Boy Promotions?

Posted byBy Rhett Butler | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

Former multiple weight class world champion and Hall of Famer Oscar De La Hoya may be ready to give up the fight business. Recently, he dished how he “can’t wait to get rid of” his promotional company, Golden Boy Promotions, ironically, during a time when boxing is making a huge comeback.

“I’m sitting on a billion-dollar company,” De La Hoya said to 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.”

De La Hoya had built a boxing powerhouse with Golden Boy Promotions that once was a three-headed monster of champion owners initially with De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins, and “Sugar” Shane Moseley.

The Canelo Era

When Moseley left, De La Hoya and Hopkins, and GBP President Eric Gomez continued the business, building stars like Saul “Canelo” Alvarez as the company’s foundation. Named after his fighting moniker, GBP represented former fighters reclaiming their power as promoters.

The company was founded five years before Mayweather would define the modern fighter-promoter era with Mayweather Promotions. Ironically, Mayweather’s first fight after his initial Top Rank promotional deal with Bob Arum as Mayweather Promotions was against Oscar De La Hoya in 2007.

Then Mayweather defined boxing for the next ten years until he finally retired to do exhibition bouts in 2017; De La Hoya began to own boxing in Mayweather’s shadow, promoting Canelo, who also also ironically took off after losing to Floyd Mayweather in 2013.

New Rules Affect The Golden Boy

But then the same energy De La Hoya and Mayweather displayed with owning their careers hit Canelo after being stagnant during the COVID-19 pandemic. He eventually sued Golden Boy and left to form Canelo Promotions.

However, GBP probably owns the rights to many of Canelo’s early fights, and past fight catalogue is a valuable commodity in the broadcast market.

During this time, De La Hoya began pushing new contenders like Vergil Ortiz, Jaime Munguia, and Ryan Garcia. He capitalized on the Mexican and Mexican-American fan base De La Hoya owns, but without his centerpiece of Canelo Alvarez, the powerhouse began to look like a medium-sized promoter.

The Game’s Evolution

However, the game began to change as Mayweather built a star in Gervonta “Tank” Davis, and boxing adviser Al Haymon took over premium cable with his Premier Boxing Champions brand and stable of stars.

Then De La Hoya’s personal life began to catch up with him while beefing with his promotional rivals like UFC President Dana White and his forever nemesis, Oscar De La Hoya.

As early as 2011, in a statement after three months in a rehab clinic, De La Hoya said that his life was a lie; De La Hoya revealed that he was addicted to alcohol and cocaine. Then in 2019, a San Bernardino woman filed a lawsuit claiming De La Hoya sexually assaulted her two years prior.

One Last Big Fight?

Although the case was dismissed in 2020, the court docket didn’t indicate whether a settlement was reached, leaving suspicion hovering over his reputation.

Now De La Hoya is attempting to bait boxing’s newest free agent, Tank Davis, to fight his most promising star in Ryan Garcia, in hopes of building up his company again for a lifetime sale.

“We’re sitting on a gold mine,” De La Hoya continued. “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.”

`

Related Stories

Back to top