BY LYLE FITZSIMMONS April 18, 2023
Source: Boxing Scene
Photo Source: Boxing Scene
A decade ago, Oscar De La Hoya told anyone who would listen that a then-fledgling Canelo Alvarez would become the biggest thing in boxing.
And based on a perusal of pound-for-pound lists and pay-per-view marquees, he was correct.
These days, the Golden Boy kingmaker is working 24 hours a day to spread the word that another captivating 20-something, Ryan Garcia, is ready to assume the throne.
The unbeaten Garcia has 19 KOs in 23 bouts and is already on a short list of callouts for nearly every high-profile fighter within 10 pounds of the lightweight division.
Let's not forget, De La Hoya knows exactly what he's talking about.
The 50-year-old from East Los Angeles is an OG ring celebrity, having emerged from Barcelona 31 years ago with an Olympic gold medal that made him a mainstream sports sensation.
He was a champion within 18 months of turning pro, won belts at six weights, and retired in 2009 having fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. in what was then the sport's all-time biggest pay-per-view event.
"I feel like I have a unique perspective having gone through what I went through," De La Hoya told BoxingScene.com.
"I can tell a fighter what to do and what not to, what works and what doesn't work."
Particularly if the fighter is paying attention.
De La Hoya lost a split decision to Mayweather in the May 2007 fight that drew nearly 2.5 million PPV buys, and he was Alvarez's promoter/mentor when the Mexican met Mayweather six years later in a show that surpassed the earlier fight in net revenue and just missed topping it in terms of buy rate.
Mayweather beat Alvarez, then 22, by majority decision — a result that remained Alvarez's lone loss through 60 fights — and it was a challenge De La Hoya never wanted his burgeoning star to take.
"I told him he shouldn't take the fight," De La Hoya said. "It was a bad idea. There was a chance that he could be embarrassed by a guy on Mayweather's level, and that's exactly what happened. "But he's always going to do what he wants to do. He's a very stubborn person."
Alvarez was back in the ring six months later and has gone 16-1-1 since while picking up titles in three more weight classes. He'll meet English contender John Ryder in defense of his cache of 168-pound belts next month in Mexico, but it'll be without De La Hoya — with whom he went through a very public divorce that culminated with a breach of contract lawsuit in September 2020.
A settlement prompted Alvarez's release from De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions a few months later, and the 1992 Olympic champion has since turned his attention to Garcia, whose looks, charisma, and talent are augmented by a vast social media presence. "Instagram is the new gold medal," De La Hoya said.
But there's something else that makes the new kid appealing as a client, too. "When you say something to him, he listens," De La Hoya said. "He's a (24-year-old) kid who hears what you have to say, and he pays attention to it, and he wants to learn. That's a valuable commodity. He listens to me. He listens to (Golden Boy executive) Bernard Hopkins. He values what we say.
"He's got a lot of advantages. The fact that he's so well-known already is absolutely important, and it'll help him build his popularity. He can make boxing fans out of a lot of people who wouldn't be."
Garcia scored the biggest win of his career with a seventh-round stoppage of ex-title challenger Luke Campbell in January 2021, then stepped away to focus on his mental health after going public a few months later about struggles with anxiety and depression. He finally returned to the ring last April with a clear defeat of veteran Emmanuel Tagoe, then blew out veteran Javier Fortuna three months later.
De La Hoya went straight to Gervonta Davis amid a spate of aborted big fights and got it done, orchestrating a deal that’ll culminate with their long-awaited Saturday night Showtime Pay-Per-View showdown in Las Vegas.
It’s a promoter's dream for multiple reasons.
The style clash of a lanky 5-foot-10 right-hander and a predatory 5-foot-6 southpaw is particularly intriguing, given that both men have shown fight-altering power to the head and body.
"KingRy" got off the floor to stop Campbell with a single hook to the liver in January 2021, while Davis' uppercut finish of triple-division champ Leo Santa Cruz three months earlier was the kind that still yields an involuntary cringe on every viewing.
The fan base clash is equally intriguing, too, with Davis having played to full houses in Baltimore, Atlanta and New York in recent fights while building on a hometown foundation that's evolved into crowds dotted with high-profile athletes and celebrities angling for space.
Garcia, meanwhile, blends the traditional boxing fervor that stems from his Mexican American heritage with the new-school arrivals that help comprise his 1.21 million subscribers on YouTube and 8.9 million followers on Instagram.
Ask a teenager about Julio Cesar Chavez, and you'll get a blank stare.
Ask the same teenager about Garcia, and you'll get instant recognition.
The best part? Not only are Garcia and Davis world-class talents who are likely to have long, successful careers, but it's also one of those rare fights where you can ask two people for a pick and get diametrically opposite accounts of what'll happen in the ring.
Could Garcia overwhelm Davis with speed and land enough thudding shots to stop a physically smaller opponent? Yes. Could Davis present Garcia with the sort of effective, sustained pressure he's not seen and ultimately chop him down in the second half? Yes. As for what will happen, we’ll pull a little bit from both sides.
Davis isn't exactly a fast starter, so it won't be at all surprising to see Garcia begin the fight on the front foot while his foe collects data and tries to evade fight-ending shots. Presuming those decisive shots don't land, the scene would slowly shift to one in which Davis is the one moving forward and initiating exchanges, trying to collect on early deposits of body work.
Is it a slam dunk that he'll escape the early storm undamaged? No.
But the guess is that it'll indeed happen that way and he'll get his own work started early enough to either accomplish another later-round stoppage or deserve a decision in the 7-5 or 8-4 range. Of course, it's likely the fight lands in Las Vegas, so assuming all three judges there will see it that way is probably the event's biggest long shot.
Tuesday morning forecast: Davis by split decision. * * * * * * * * * *
This week’s title-fight schedule: SATURDAY IBF junior lightweight title – Cardiff, Wales Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (champion/No. 3 IWBR) vs. Joe Cordina (No. 3 WBO/No. 46 IWBR) Rakhimov (17-0-1, 14 KO): First title defense; Last six victories have come by KO/TKO (33 total rounds).
Cordina (15-0, 9 KO): Second title fight (1-0); Vacated IBF title at 130 due to injury (2022, no defenses).
Fitzbitz says: Here’s one of those fights that flies under the mainstream radar but has got we intense types pretty revved. Two tough guys who can crack. Somebody’s 0 goes. Rakhimov by decision (55/45).
This week’s trash title-fight schedule: WBA “world” super middleweight title – Las Vegas, Nevada David Morrell (champion/No. 21 IWBR) vs. Yamaguchi Falcao (No. 6 WBA/No. 82 IWBR) Why it’s trash: Don’t get me wrong, Morrell is a rising commodity at 168. He’s looked good in limited action, and I’m intrigued to see him scrap with the likes of Benavidez or Canelo. But he’s got a junior varsity belt and it shouldn’t be regarded as anything beyond a Wilder-quality accessory.
Last week's picks: None 2023 picks record: 11-3 (78.6 percent) Overall picks record: 1,261-411 (75.4 percent) NOTE: Fights previewed are only those involving a sanctioning body's full-fledged title-holder – no interim, diamond, silver, etc. Fights for WBA "world championships" are only included if no "super champion" exists in the weight class.
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