By Norm Frauenheim –
PHOENIX – Oscar De La Hoya, already busy promoting a real fight between Jaime Munguia and John Ryder, found himself addressing questions Thursday about reports of another one in what looks to be a further episode in an ongoing feud.
The news conference was about Munguia-Ryder, a significant super-middleweight fight Saturday night on the Suns home floor at Footprint Center.
The buzz was about Ryan Garcia.
De La Hoya-Garcia, a social-media soap opera even before Twitter became X, took a confusing turn late Wednesday and early Thursday.
The brief version – if only there was one – goes something like this: Garcia was fighting Rolly Romero. Then, he wasn’t.
Sounds simple enough, and maybe it would be, pre-social media. But it isn’t. Ryan Garcia is a social media star. He needs a census to count his followers.
And they were talking late Wednesday, first about a Garcia post that said he would be fighting Mexican junior-welterweight champion Rolly Romero on April 20.
Hours later, ESPN reported that Romero was fighting Isaac Cruz on March 30 in Las Vegas. Can you hear the buzz?
De La Hoya did, and he addressed the inevitable after a news conference that included a theme about promotional unity in The Boxing Balkans.
From De La Hoya’s perspective, there’s no feud with Garcia, at least not in what transpired this week.
“A lot is happening,’’ De La Hoya said after the formal Munguia-Ryder news conference concluded. “Look, me and Ryan are on a united front. We are going to get his fight, done and sealed. And I will announce it when it is done.
“I do know for sure it will be April 20 in Las Vegas. But no names.’’
No opponent, yet. The only sure thing is that it won’t be Romero, the World Boxing Association’s 140-pound champion.
“There were negotiations that took place,’’ De La Hoya said. “But nothing in writing.’’
De La Hoya went on to say that the Romero-Cruz fight on Amazon Prime – the first since it struck a deal with Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) — could set up Garcia’s second fight in 2024.
“It turns out, the winner of the Rolly-Isaac Cruz fight could be in the Ryan Garcia lottery for the next fight.’’
Unity, however, wasn’t exactly the message delivered by Garcia when he reacted to the ESPN news Thursday.
“Look I was informed the deal was finalizing and it would be announced in the coming days,’’ Garcia posted on X. “Obviously That was a lie. My patience has been tested the last few weeks. I’m trying my best to be as honest and real as I can to you guys. I’ll be looking forward to announcing my next fight. I’m not going to say anything until it’s actually signed and delivered
I still look forward to putting on a big PPV for Dazn Boxing. Have a Blessed day.’’
A blessed day, at least for some, would be the simple sound of an opening bell, a sound that for awhile might silence the back-and-forth on social media.
That, at least, is an opinion long held by the old-school, no nonsense Bernard Hopkins, a minority partner in De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions who is as direct with his words as he was with his deadly punches during his Hall of Fame days as The Executioner.
“I don’t control social media, so I don’t know what’s going on,’’ Hopkins said at the Phoenix newser. “Is there a fight or not? I don’t know.
“But I do know – and I’ll say it again – I’m sick of the drama queens.
“We as promoters, along with the fans, have to make it clear that we’re not putting up with this anymore. Last year, we started coming back to where we have to be.
“There was Ryan-Tank (Gervonta Davis) in April. People watched. More than 1.2 million watched. Then, there was Terence Crawford and Errol Spence. That was the second fight that said we’re coming back with what people want to see.
“But now we’re in a tug-of-war.’’
A war to keep it real.
