Garcia defended his WBC welterweight title against Conor Benn in Las Vegas on September 12, stopping the Englishman in the second round. De La Hoya was not involved, despite Garcia previously expressing a desire to be ringed by his longtime promoter.
Ryan Garcia says Oscar De La Hoya had a spot for his Conor Benn fight but didn’t attend
Despite De La Hoya being at odds with him
Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO and co-founder of Zuffa Boxing
Dana White the latter has repeated for years that he did not prevent him from participating in the first event. Golden Boy’s promoter was invited and even offered VIP access.
However, he did not attend the event. At first, Garcia seemed bothered by De La Hoya’s absence. Days later, however, the master was much more critical.
“Honestly, nobody wanted him there,” Garcia told Ariel Helwan. “Sometimes you have to pick your battles; it’s not really a battle that I really want to pick right here. I wish Oscar was there, I wish he’d come out with me, and I wish he was at ringside, no matter what.”
According to Garcia, De La Hoya was allowed to participate but decided against it.
“It would have shown his love for me exactly as I had imagined someone who has been with me all along,” Garcia said. “Even though they had a spot for you and you didn’t take that spot. I don’t respect that and it disappointed me.”
Garcia also revealed that he hasn’t heard from De La Hoya since the fight.
“I don’t know why he’s like this; he just doesn’t want to show up to the people he’s supposed to love,” Garcia said. “I don’t know; she’s weird, bro. She’s missing a part of herself… It’s really disappointing. Where’s your maturity?”
