By Robert Segal: Oscar De La Hoya says he feels that Ryan Garcia and Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis are both “A-side” in their potential fight in November or December.
The problem is that Ryan, 23, hasn’t done enough in his career to sharing the A-side against Gervonta because it’s not going to happen otherwise.
Ryan has never captured a major belt, and his most significant career win came against Luke Campbell at the end of his career.
The Golden Boy Promotions boss De La Hoya’s view of seeing Ryan (23-0, 19 KOs) on equal status as the A-side for a fight with Gervonta could brew trouble when it comes to trying to negotiate the fight.
Tank Davis’ promoter Floyd Mayweather Jr. is already drawing a line in the sand over the weight for the fight, saying Ryan must fight at 135 against Gervonta if he wants to face him.
If De La Hoya expects Tank to agree to a catchweight, he could be barking up the wrong tree because it’s not going to happen.
“Ryan is fair. He’s been campaigning at 135. I see Ryan making 135 with no problems, but I see him comfortable at 140 and anything in between,” said Oscar De La Hoya to Fighthype about a fight between Ryan Garcia and Gervonta Davis.
“I was always in a position to be the A-side, having won the Olympic gold medal and having superstar right from the start. That Olympic platform was global, so it made me the Golden Boy instantly,” said De La Hoya.
“My opponents knew I was the man. As a promoter, I can see from the outside in about who should be able to dictate negotiations and who should be able to make the fights happen.
“What’s happening now in boxing is there are so many fighters that are filling up the arena and that have their own fan bases. Social media is bringing the world together and is creating this global fan base for fighters like Ryan Garcia, Gervonta Davis, and Jake Paul.
“All these guys, they’re the A-sides, they’re the fighters that dictate and call the shots. So when we talk about a Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia fight, it shouldn’t be that tricky to make. But since you’ve got two guys that are A-sides. It’s going to be back and forth.
“It’s about being fair because both guys have a name, and they both can sell pay-per-views. Even though Ryan hasn’t fought on pay-per-view, they both can sell out arenas, and they’re the draws. It’s not tricky to make, but it can be a little complicated.
“It’s a matter of negotiations. It’s a matter of giving one or two or three pounds. That’s going to come down the road. Those are negotiations that will take place but down the road.
“Ryan Garcia is signed to Golden Boy Promotions, and DAZN is our broadcasting partner. In order to make this fight, both parties have to participate. It wouldn’t be fair or good business to leave DAZN out of it.
“They helped me build Ryan on Dazn, and they spent a lot of money. It just wouldn’t be fair. It wouldn’t be good business. Stephen Espinoza [of Showtime] would agree because he’s a businessman.
“Fights of this magnitude have been worked out many times, and it’s a matter of figuring it out. It’s going to take Stephen Espinoza and Joe Markowski of DAZN to sit down together with everyone involved and just iron this out. It’s too big of a fight not to make it.
“Most importantly, the fighters want it. We know this is the fight to make, and the one fans are really asking for, so we should deliver,” said De La Hoya.
