Oscar De La Hoya just recently caught up with some reporters to give his take on where Ryan Garcia goes from here, following his stoppage loss to Gervonta Davis. De La Hoya reasons that Garcia is still, and will continue to be, a star in the sport of boxing and believes a potential rematch could be even bigger down the line.
For now, though, De La Hoya says both Davis and Garcia will go their separate ways in their respective careers and says he’ll be ready with a solid plan to bring Garcia back whenever he’s ready.
De La Hoya on if Garcia can still be a huge draw despite this recent loss
“Once you’re part of a big PPV, especially one million plus (buys), and you help carry it — and Gervonta won, he’s a great fighter. I’ve always respected him, he’s one of my favorite fights, he’s a helluva fighter. But Ryan’s still Ryan. He had a good performance leading up to it, got hit by a body shot. I got hit by a body shot as well by my partner, Bernard.
“Look, it’s boxing. It is what it is. But Ryan Garcia’s still an attraction. He’s still a star, so there’s nothing lost there. I think Gervonta’s going to go up to the stars and Ryan Garcia as well. So now we have two stars, which is great for boxing.”
On how important his next fight will be in terms of bouncing back in his confidence
“That’s the beauty of having a promoter who knows what he’s doing. We’re gonna sit down with him, a week, 10 days, whatever he wants, whatever it takes for him to relax the head, the mind, the soul, and then I’ll have a perfect game plan for him to come back.”
On his interest in trying to promote a Canelo Alvarez vs David Benavidez fight
“Well (Benavidez) has a promoter so I have to respect that. But any fighter who is free, who is a free agent, I’m right here because there’s no promoter in the world who has laced up the gloves the way I have. So I know exactly what fighters want, what fighters need, how to guide their careers.
“Look, I’ve promoted 15 of Mayweather’s fights for a reason. I promoted Canelo and made him a star, I promoted Ryan and made him a star. We promote all these fighters like Vergil Ortiz, who’s gonna be a star, like Jaime Munguia, who’s gonna be a star. It takes a fighter to know a fighter, so that’s why I say Golden Boy is the best promoter in the world.”
On if he believes a Davis vs Garcia rematch is warranted because of the business it did
“A rematch won’t take place anytime soon. I believe that both fighters will each take their own path but eventually meet down the road. That’s the beauty of boxing. Gervonta Davis can easily go up — I believe he’s already fought at 140 already, so it would be nice maybe to see him up there at 140 down the line. Let him enjoy his victory, let him get a few more wins, fight more world champions. And believe me, when they do it again — if they decide to do it again — that fight can do four million homes easy.
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