Just a short time after largely dismissing the importance or relevance of a potential fight between Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Vergil Ortiz, and a subsequent lawsuit filed against him by Ortiz, Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya now says that he certainly wants to see that fight happen.
At the kickoff press conference for yesterday’s formal announcement for Mario Barrios vs Ryan Garcia, De La Hoya would say that he’s looking to make the fight that everyone wants to see (despite previously saying it was only Eddie Hearn pushing for the fight), and that his past comments were just posturing for negotiating leverage. Check out some quick hits of what De La Hoya had to say on that subject and more below.
De La Hoya on Barrios vs Garcia
“I really do think that this is going to be a very entertaining fight. The welterweight division is an open division right now, and it’s there for the taking. And I think just the fact that Barrios went the distance and had a draw with the great Manny Pacquiao, speaks volumes about Barrios. But then you have Ryan — I see him very focused. I see him determined and ready, and I hear he’s looking great. He really wants this so I think we’re going to see a helluva fight. Maybe there will be knockdowns with either guy but this is really a fight of who really wants it more.”
On Barrios’ performance against Pacquiao
“I think Barrios respected Manny a little too much because Barrios, obviously he had the chance to take him out or beat him with no problem. I think he had too much respect for Pacquiao, and I don’t blame him because one thing about Pacquiao, Pacquiao’s like a sleeper. You think that you’re going to go in there and take him out easy because he’s small…I think [Barrios] did good because of the circumstances but he could’ve done better.”
On still wanting to make a Boots vs Vergil fight despite ongoing litigation with his fighter
“My #1 job is to make fights. And I always try and get the most money for my fighters and that’s what a promoter does. And me as a fighter who understands the game, you know, I understand that Vergil Ortiz deserves the bigger half of the pie because of the resume, just because of who Vergil has fought and how he has performed. And so, yeah, 60/40 was a little ambitious but it’s what a promoter should do, is get the most money for your fighter.
“We have an ironclad deal with Vergil Ortiz and obviously, look, I’ve never had anything wrong with Vergil. Even just two months ago he was praising Golden Boy and how good of a job I’ve done for him, so I don’t feel it’s Vergil Ortiz. I think Vergil Ortiz is a helluva human being, his father’s amazing, the way he trains him, and they’re a dynamic duo. I’ve never had any beef with him, I’m looking forward to working together to get the biggest fights, the most money possible, and moving forward we feel that Vergil Ortiz can be and will be a multi-weight champion and will go in there and destroy anybody who’s in front of him.”
On Zuffa Boxing’s debut card tonight
“Well, what a hell of a start, right? I mean, they promised a new toy, they promised bigger and better than me and Eddie Hearn. ‘We don’t what we’re doing’ and this and that, and you’re coming out with this?! This is your big bang? Good luck, Dana. You got to try a little harder, baby.”
On whether any progress has been made on Boots vs Vergil
“Has there been any movement? Look, I’ll discuss it with Eddie Hearn, who I believe is Ennis’ promoter. We’ll discuss it, we’ll talk about it. Yeah, I want to make this fight. This is the fight that everybody wants to see so I want to watch this fight because it’s a great matchup. So, yeah, I’ll talk to Eddie Hearn and we’ll take it from there, but most definitely you will see this fight.”
On where Golden Boy stands in terms of finding a new broadcast partner
“We’ve been in negotiations with DAZN for quite a while now. We’ve had a great relationship with DAZN, we’ve put on great events with DAZN, there’s no reason why that relationship should end. There’s no reason. So we’re going to continue to chip away, negotiations going back and forth…It’s such a complex contract that it takes time…But we’re currently negotiating with DAZN to bring the best boxing here to the US.”
