There are many chapters to the existing feud between Ryan Garcia and promoter Oscar De La Hoya, and their yearslong beef has reared its ugly head again in recent weeks.
Following
Garcia’s unanimous-decision defeat to Rolly Romero in May, Garcia and De La Hoya started going at it again.
Garcia berated De La Hoya and Golden Boy on social media. The incident made De La Hoya post a screenshot of an expletive-laden text message he received from Garcia while labeling it “another episode” and insinuating that the fighter has Bipolar disorder.
During an extensive interview with
The Ring, Garcia opened up about the state of his relationship with De La Hoya and Golden Boy, what led to the recent contention and what his future holds with the company.
“I've always tried to mend the relationship and be the bigger person. I've said in the past that families fight, and always put it aside,” Garcia said.
“But it's really hard to deal with a promoter who's really involved with himself. He loves the attention, still, even at his age. It just never works with his fighters, especially the ones who are the stars. You saw what happened with him and
Canelo Alvarez. He causes a division in people, and he doesn't know how to keep a good relationship. He likes to air people's business and do things that a promoter shouldn't. He's always been coming at me. There's always riff-raff. I don't care that he posted the screenshot because I know my worth.
“After the
Romero fight, they gave me the worst offer you can ever imagine. It was a bullshit offer. And then Oscar tried to take my rematch with Rolly and give it to
Raul Curiel. I've been trying to get the Rolly rematch, and now you want to give it to another fighter?
“It's a slap in the face, and it keeps happening over and over again. It's disrespectful. There is no loyalty. It's offensive, and they show me their true colors every time. I don't want to be a part of a team like that, and that's just the truth.”
Garcia's and De La Hoya’s fractured relationship spilled into the public eye in a significant way in the summer of 2019 while he prepared to face Romero Duno. But a contract extension quickly covered the cracks, and Garcia continued building on his budding career.
Following Garcia’s knockout loss to
Gervonta Davis in April 2023, he said Tank’s team cared for him in defeat more than Golden Boy did as De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins didn’t show up for the post-fight press conference. Two months later, Garcia’s legal team sent a demand letter alleging violations of their promotional agreement. A week later, Golden Boy filed a lawsuit to enforce its contract with him.
“Why is he hating on the only guy who’s making him money?” Garcia said. “Gervonta Davis and I made $100 million in our fight. Who is the other fighter from Golden Boy who is a star? They don't have any. I am not being rude because I respect my fellow fighters. It's just the truth. Canelo told me back in the day, and I should have listened.”
The souring relationship took another ugly turn during Garcia’s fight week against
Oscar Duarte in December 2023 when, during a press conference, Garcia blasted Golden Boy on the dais for negative comments made by Hopkins and De La Hoya.
After knocking out Duarte, Garcia went on to face Devin Haney in April 2024, but his three-knockdown performance and decision win were
later changed to a no-contest due to testing positive for the banned substance Ostarine. In November, hours after Garcia had a press conference in Beverly Hills, California, announcing a December exhibition match against Rukiya Anpo in Japan to get in shape and stay active while serving a one-year suspension, Golden Boy declared the Rizin and Fanmio-promoted event couldn't happen without their permission.
Garcia pulled out of the event nearly two weeks later, citing a wrist injury, and Fanmio sued Garcia and Golden Boy in March because the event was never rescheduled before he moved on to fight Romero.
“Oscar has no trust or belief in me,” said Garcia. “Great fighters lose, and they come back, rebuild and get better. Look at all the times he lost and came back. He was still the Golden Boy, and I was rooting for him. That's what the sport is all about.
“Oscar doesn't respect me. I don't think he ever thought I was a good fighter, but frankly, I don't care. I have one more fight left with him, and that's it. If they can build another star, great. I want to move on.”
As for what’s next for Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs, 1 NC), he’s already started light training
following right-hand surgery in May and
wants to get back in the ring by December against either Romero, Manny Pacquiao, or
Teofimo Lopez.
“These kinds of things happen in life, and everything happens for a reason,” said Garcia. “I have the star power unlike others, and I am coming back with a vengeance. I am a great fighter, and I can bounce back from anything. I am 26 and I will be back. My comeback will be a beacon of hope for everybody.”
Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan.