Ryan Garcia says 'nobody wanted' Oscar De La Hoya at Conor Benn fight, disappointed he stayed away
"Sometimes you’ve got to pick your battles," Garcia told Uncrowned of his longtime promoter. "It's not a battle I really want to pick right here."
Ryan Garcia's WBC welterweight title defense against Conor Benn in a Ring Magazine event drew a lot of attention. However, the event did not follow the usual standard set by the primary promoter, Zuffa Boxing and TKO. Despite Golden Boy's Oscar De La Hoya being a co-promoter, he was largely absent from the build-up and completely missing on fight night.
Garcia had hoped for De La Hoya to be present, mentioning it would be "iconic" to have both Mexican-American fighters together. He expressed his disappointment when De La Hoya did not show up, particularly at the moment of his walkout. Garcia admitted that he did not want to make a fuss over the matter, but he wished De La Hoya was there for support.
Zuffa Boxing had provided De La Hoya a ticket, but it was not in the correct position, creating a security issue. Golden Boy was provided only two tickets and had no backstage access. Garcia stated that De La Hoya had not contacted him since Benn's TKO, and their strained relationship over the past decade left Garcia feeling disappointed and questioning De La Hoya's motives.
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