Notebook: De La Hoya laments difficulty of making major fight for Ryan Garcia

Haney-Linares deal, Quick hits, Ali-Frazier show and tell

Mar 08, 2021

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya hopes to make a fight for lightweight star Ryan Garcia for the spring but admitted it is difficult since Garcia is adamant that he only wants one of two opponents — either all-time legend Manny Pacquiao, who is a welterweight, or lightweight titlist Gervonta “Tank” Davis.

“We have a kid in Ryan who wants to go straight to the top and I don’t blame him,” De La Hoya told Fight Freaks Unite.

Garcia recently claimed he was close to a deal to fight Pacquiao, the future Hall of Famer and boxing’s only eight-division champion, but there was more smoke than fire, according to De La Hoya.

“We’re working on Ryan’s next fight, but obviously, with the whole Pacquiao situation, it was never on the table,” De La Hoya said. “Obviously, Pacquiao has his own plans and we heard several stories. We heard he was going to fight in Dubai, who knows. There was nothing on the table and we still hear he has tie-ins with (Premier Boxing Champions), so it’s a difficult fight to make. But who knows? Down the road we’ll see. But we’re working on something with Ryan.”

It won’t be to resurrect a fight for Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) against former three-division titlist Jorge Linares, as was once in Golden Boy’s plans.

“We’re looking for something else,” De La Hoya said. “When you have Ryan Garcia sending a post on Instagram the world is going to hear about it and he kind of tied our hands behind our back when he announced he only wants to fight TV.. Pacquiao or ‘Tank’ Davis. As you know, those are two fights that are almost impossible to make right now.

“When you’re dealing with different promoters and dealing with different networks, not that it’s impossible, but they’re not the easiest fights to make.”

De La Hoya said he does likes the idea of Garcia, 22, of Victorville, California, who holds the WBC interim lightweight belt that he won by seventh-round knockout of Luke Campbell on Jan. 2, taking on Devin Haney, the full WBC titlist.

“Haney would be a great fight to make,” said De La Hoya, even though Haney is first lined up to defend against Linares, who is also a Golden Boy fighter. “We’re working on a few things. When you have Ryan only wanting to fight Pacquiao or Tank, we still have to work. Hopefully sooner or later we can talk some sense into him and get something done. We’re hoping by late April.”

Haney-Linares agreed to

Lightweight world titlist Devin Haney and former titleholder Jorge Linares have come to terms to fight for Haney’s belt. The fight will headline a Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN card and is penciled in for May 15 at a site to be determined.

The 22-year-old Haney (25-0, 15 KOs) will be making his third title defense and facing by far the most notable opponent of his career in Linares (47-5, 29 KOs), who is 35 and no longer in his prime but still formidable. He has won world titles in three weight divisions: featherweight, junior lightweight and lightweight.

I wrote about the deal and fight for BoxingScene. Please read the story here: https://www.boxingscene.com/devin-haney-jorge-linares-agree-terms-fight--155952

Parker plans

Former heavyweight world titlist Joseph Parker told Fight Freaks Unite that his next bout probably will come against Dereck Chisora (32-10, 23 KOs), 37, of England.

“(Manager) David Higgins is working on the next fight and it looks like Chisora, but no deal done yet,” Parker said.

Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has said he would like to make the fight for May.

Parker (28-2, 21 KOs), 29, is coming off a unanimous decision win over New Zealand countryman Junior Fa in long-simmering rivalry bout on Feb. 27 in Aickland and is in the market for a new trainer regardless of whom he fights next.

Last week, Parker announced a split with longtime trainer Kevin Barry due wanting to train at home rather than make regular tripls to Las Vegas, where Barry is based.

“Kevin and I have parted ways and will remain best mates. Haven’t got a new coach yet,” Parker said. “Just taking a moment to relax and will look into that very soon.”

iFL TV interview

I joined my friends at iFL TV the other day for an interview on a variety of boxing topics. We chatted about the upcoming Canelo Alvarez-Billy Joe Saunders super middleweight title unification fight, the situation between Teofimo Lopez and Top Rank, the expected undisputed heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua and even a little on YouTube personality Jake Paul and his go at boxing. You can watch the interview here:

Quick hits

There is no deal done but Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya told Fight Freaks Unite he is hopeful of landing middleweight contender Jaime Munguia (36-0, 29 KOs), a former junior middleweight world titlist, a title shot against Gennadiy Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs). “The last time we heard was they’re serious about Munguia, so we have a call into GGG’s people and hopefully we can iron that one out and get it done, hopefully for May,” De La Hoya said. Munguia has won both of his fights at middleweight since vacating his title to move up in weight.

Although Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn would have liked to place middleweight world titlist Demetrius Andrade against mandatory challenger Liam Williams in Andrade’s hometown of Providence, Rhode Island, that is not an option due to Covid-19 restrictions. So, the fight will likely take place with limited spectator attendance at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, and headline a DAZN card on April 17, a source with knowledge of the plans told Fight Freaks Unite, confirming a report by BoxingScene. Andrade (29-0, 18 KOs), 32, will be making his fourth defense and first since knocking out Luke Keeler in the ninth round of a one-sided fight in January 2020. Williams (23-2-1, 18 KOs), 28, of Wales, has won seven fights in a row since consecutive defeats at junior middleweight to former titlist Liam Smith in 2017.

Junior bantamweight champions Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez and Juan Francisco Estrada, who will meet in a long-awaited rematch to unify titles on March 13 in Dallas (DAZN and PPV) submitted to their WBC-mandated seven-day weight check with both weighing within the limit. Gonzalez (50-2-0, 41 KOs) was 118.2 pounds and Estrada (41-3, 28 KOs) 118 for the bout contracted at 115 pounds.

Middleweight prospect Austin “Ammo” Williams (7-0, 6 KOs), 24, of Houston, will face a new opponent in Brooklyn, New York, native Denis Douglin (22-7, 14 KOs), 32, in an eight-rounder on the undercard of the Gonzalez-Estrada II undercard. Williams was due to face Aaron Coley (16-3-1, 7 KOs) but he dropped out and Douglin was tapped. Douglin is vastly experienced, having faced Jermell Charlo, George Groves, David Benavidez and Anthony Dirrell in losses.

Mayweather Promotions announced it has signed 17-year-old amateur standout welterweight Jalil Hackett, of Washington, D.C., to a promotional deal. Hackett, who was 140-19 as an amateur, carried a 3.7 GPA and finished high school a year early. He is trained by his father, Bernard Hackett, and came to Mayweather Promotions' attention in 2019 when he was helping Gervonta Davis prepare for his fight with Ricardo Nunez. “It means a lot to be signed with Mayweather Promotions,” Hackett said. “When you think Floyd Mayweather you think ‘The GOAT.’ To be signed to him, and be one of the youngest at that, is a dream come true. Most fighters dream of this, and this is now my reality. It was important to me that I signed with a Black-owned company, and I’m with the best one, which is Mayweather Promotions.”

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the iconic heavyweight championship bout fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, which is on Monday, the Village of Canastota, New York, home of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, will proclaim March 8, 2021 as “Fight of the Century Day.” The old ring from New York’s Madison Square Garden in which the fight took place is on permanent display at the HOF.

Evgeny Tishchenko (8-0, 6 KOs), 29, the 2016 Russian Olympic gold medalist, and fellow southpaw Thabiso Mchunu (22-5, 13 KOs), 33, of South Africa, are scheduled to meet in a WBC final cruiserweight title eliminator on March 27 in Ekaterinburg, Russia, Tishchenko’s hometown. The winner will become the mandatory challenger for world titlist Ilunga Makabu (28-2, 25 KOs), who stopped Mchunu in the 11th round in a 2015 title eliminator. Mchunu fought for a world title in 2016 but was stopped by Oleksandr Usyk in the ninth round.

Junior middleweight contender Carlos Adames, who was bumped off the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN undercard on Feb. 13 in Las Vegas when an opponent could not be secured in time, will fight March 12 (DBE1.com and Shuan Boxing YouTube) in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Adames’ home country. Adames (18-1, 14 KOs), 26, who is seeking to rebound from his first defeat, a decision loss to Patrick Teixeira for an interim 154-pound title in November 2019, is due to face countryman Bryan Medina (14-1, 10 KOs), 26. Top Rank’s Carl Moretti said that after Adames’ Feb. 13 fight fell out “it’s easier to just let him fight down there.”

Show and tell

Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, whose are linked together forever because of their epic trilogy, both were undefeated and had claims to the heavyweight championship when they met for the first time 50 years ago on Monday — March 8, 1971 — at Madison Square Garden in New York in one of the biggest sports events of the 20th century. That is not an exaggeration. In a terrific fight, Frazier won a unanimous decision punctuated by a memorable knockdown in the 15th round. Ali would go on to win their next two fights but neither was a bigger event than what took place half a century ago. Here are some Frazier-Ali I items in my collection.

First up is a program — $1.50 cover price — from the legendary fight. I spent years looking for one in tip-top condition. I found one a few years ago that was in near-pristine shape for a price I could live with. It looks like it was printed yesterday. It’s about as good as you’ll find.

The next item is one of my favorite pieces in my entire collection. It’s a mint glass candy dish from the fight that was given to media members covering it. As a media member, I found this to be a must-have item. The image on the dish is the same as the one on the site poster. I have yet to drop the roughly $4,000 it would take to buy a nice site poster, but had no problem spending about $250 for the dish when I found it at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Baltimore in 2012.

This item is not from the fight but it is a big part of my collection nonetheless. It’s a glove boldly signed by Ali and Frazier.

Garcia/De La Hoya photo: Tom Hogan/Golden Boy

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