Fight week soap opera pits Ryan Garcia against De La Hoya, Hopkins
Although junior welterweight star is actually fighting Oscar Duarte
A note to Fight Freaks Unite readers: I created Fight Freaks Unite in January 2021 and eight months later it also became available for paid subscriptions for additional content — and as a way to help keep this newsletter going and for readers to support independent journalism. If you haven’t upgraded to a paid subscription please consider it. If you have already, I truly appreciate it! Also, consider a gift subscription for the Fight Freak in your life.
Junior welterweight star Ryan Garcia is set to face Oscar Duarte but has instead spent fight week fending off attacks from his promoters, Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins of Golden Boy Promotions.
While Garcia and Duarte headline the Golden Boy card in a 12-rounder on Saturday (DAZN, 8 p.m. ET) at the Toyota Center in Houston in Garcia’s first action since suffering a seventh-round knockout to Gervonta Davis in their mega fight on April 22 in Las Vegas, it has seemed more like a 2-on-1 fight featuring Davis against De La Hoya, the Golden Boy CEO, and Hopkins, a partner in the company.
The simmering hostility between them spilled over during the final news conference on Thursday, when Garcia showed animosity toward De La Hoya and Hopkins while barely mentioning Duarte in the latest bit of drama between the fighter and his promoters.
Please upgrade to a paid subscription for full access to the rest of this post and all posts and comments — and also help support independent journalism