Promoter Oscar De La Hoya surprisingly says he hasn’t spoken to Ryan Garcia about him switching from wanting to fight Devin Haney for his WBC light welterweight title to facing WBA champ Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero.
What’s clear is Oscar is totally fixated on Haney being Ryan’s next opponent, making some fans believe he wants to see Kingry get beat to knock him off his high horse and devalue his worth before he leaves Golden Boy.
Without naming names, De La Hoya says Ryan has “people whispering in his ear” on why the change from Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) to Rolly. It’s unclear why De La Hoya can’t see the big picture and why it’s a better deal for Ryan to take on Rolly rather than the Shakur-esque, non-PPV-selling Haney. How does De La Hoya not get it?
It’s a logical choice for Ryan to face the easier target, Rolly, to capture a world title and then turn in Haney’s direction for a unification fight.
Reasons why Rolly is a better option for Ryan Garcia:
- Bigger PPV potential: Rolly has a personality & charisma and a far more entertaining fighting style than Haney, who uses the Shakur Stevenson pull-back & run approach to fighting. The trash-talking ability Rolando is in another galaxy in the universe compared to Haney, as he’s limited to just cursing and having his dad, Bill, doing all the talking for him.
- Capture a winnable title: It’s a lot easier for Ryan to defeat the hittable Rolly than Haney, who is a defensive artist.
- Using the WBA belt from Rolly for negotiation purposes
- Rolly won’t rehydrate to 165 for the fight
“I haven’t spoken to him whatsoever. I don’t know exactly what’s happening with him and his team,” said De La Hoya to the media when asked about his thoughts on Ryan Garcia, saying he now wants to fight Rolly next rather than Haney.
“He has an advisor, and he has other people whispering in his ear. “I’m here; I’m his promoter. Whenever he wants to talk to his people, I’m here, I can sit down, and we can figure it out. Haney’s rather was here. I’m actually going to go talk to him right now and see what the deal is. But my specific instructions, I believe two ago, were, ‘Oscar, get me Haney.
Some fans believe that De La Hoya was upset that his plans for Ohara Davies forcing a fight against WBA 140-lb champion Rolly were foiled last night by Ismael Barroso, who knocked him out in the first round.
De La Hoya has claimed before the fight that Davies would be next for Rolly if he were victorious against Barroso, and he even called him a potential superstar, which was laughable, given his past defeats.
