Oscar De La Hoya says reports linking Ryan Garcia to a September 12 fight against Conor Benn are premature, insisting Golden Boy Promotions has not been contacted despite Garcia’s contractual obligations. The promoter also accused Turki Alalshikh of pushing the fight to benefit Zuffa and questioned the promotion’s ability to attract U.S. viewers.
“I have yet to be approached about making this fight,” De La Hoya said in a video posted to social media. “We signed a two-fight deal for Ryan with the Saudis last year. The first fight was with Barrios, and apparently the Saudis have chosen Conor Benn to be Ryan’s next opponent.”
De La Hoya said Garcia remains under contract with Golden Boy, arguing that no deal can move forward without his company’s involvement.
“There are contracts in place. You can’t just do whatever you want here in America. There are laws and legally binding contracts,” he said. “Turki and Salah, you can’t call up any fighter you want and make a fight. You can’t put fights on any network you want.”
The Golden Boy chairman also claimed Benn was selected because of Zuffa’s involvement in boxing.
“But because Turki owns Zuffa and wants to help them out, he picked Conor Benn,” De La Hoya said. “But whatever, that’s fine. You can’t just make fights without Golden Boy.”
De La Hoya then took aim at Zuffa’s ability to draw an audience in the United States, claiming Paramount is eager to land a Garcia fight because the promotion’s own events have struggled to gain traction.
“I know Paramount wants the Ryan fight on their network because their regular Zuffa fights do a few thousand views,” De La Hoya said. “I can’t imagine how disappointed Paramount is.”
Garcia has been widely linked to a September 12 showdown with Benn in Las Vegas, although no official announcement has been made. De La Hoya maintains that Golden Boy must be involved before any agreement can be finalized, setting up another public dispute between the longtime promoter and Turki Alalshikh over control of one of boxing’s biggest stars.
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Last Updated on 2026/07/02 at 8:45 PM
