Ryan Garcia gave a short answer Saturday when asked what involvement Oscar De La Hoya has in his September 12 title defense against Conor Benn.
“Not a lot, I guess,” Garcia said at the kickoff press conference in New York. “I mean, he’s part of it, right? He’s cool.”
Guadalupe Valencia, Garcia’s longtime attorney and advisor, gave the technical answer.
“They’re co-promoters with Ryan and our company, Ryan Garcia Promotions, so they’re partners with us,” Valencia said. “That’s it.”
The question landed after a press conference in which Garcia thanked Dana White and Turki Alalshikh from the stage. De La Hoya, his promoter since he turned professional, did not receive a mention in those thanks.
Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs) will make the first defense of the WBC welterweight title against Benn (25-1, 14 KOs) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, a card announced Wednesday that streams globally on Paramount+ and on DAZN in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Golden Boy Promotions and Zuffa Boxing are co-promoting, with both logos on the official poster.
The arrangement came together after weeks of public conflict. Golden Boy sent a cease and desist letter to Zuffa Boxing, TKO Group Holdings, Paramount and Sela in June, alleging interference with Garcia and asserting that his fights were contractually tied to Golden Boy’s streaming partner. In a video posted to social media earlier this month, De La Hoya said he had “yet to be approached about making this fight” and added, “Nobody’s asking for this fight. The fans definitely not wanting this fight, and if it were up to me I would’ve picked Devin Haney for the rematch.”
Once the fight was made, De La Hoya changed his tone in a social media post. “After long negotiations, Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn is a done deal,” he wrote. “Golden Boy Promotions and Sela made it happen. It’s on, baby. T-Mobile Arena, September 12, let’s go!” The post credited Golden Boy and Sela. Zuffa Boxing went unmentioned.
On Saturday in New York, the omissions ran the other way, with Garcia’s public thanks going to White and Alalshikh and the description of his promoter’s role left to Valencia’s one word of finality.
