Oscar De La Hoya has made a ton of missteps in his personal life. But as a fighter, those missteps were few and he never avoided fighting someone whom he should have faced.
It's why the 1992 Olympic gold medalist became the biggest star in boxing. Yes, he had the look. Yes, he was coached well to say the right things. Yes, he was highly accessible for a mega-star. Those traits helped him, for sure. But De La Hoya ascended to superstardom because largely for two reasons: He picked the right opponents and he was easily one of the best fighters in the world.
To De La Hoya, if it made dollars, it made sense, and so he never worried about who was on the other side of him. The bigger name, the more talented the fighter the better for him and his bottom line.
It's an approach taken by the fighters who will meet April 20 in a De La Hoya-promoted bout at The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., Ryan Garcia and WBC super lightweight champion Devin Haney.
In his day, De La Hoya fought Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Felix Trinidad, Bernard Hopkins, Fernando Vargas, Shane Mosley, Ike Quartey, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., Genaro Hernandez, Pernell Whitaker and Arturo Gatti, among many others.
While his personal life was often a mess, the way he made fights should remain a model for others.
He hasn't always acted as a promoter the way he did as a boxer, but he's got a better than average track record as a promoter. And the fact that Haney-Garcia is happening is a testament to the work he did years ago.
“An assignment that Devin sent me to do was to approach the only human being who's a Hall of Fame fighter and a Hall of Fame promoter, and thats Oscar De La Hoya," said Bill Haney, Devin's father, trainer and manager. "I put the [onus] on him, I said 'Listen, when you were when you were a Hall of Fame fighter, you fought everybody, so as a Hall of Fame promoter, I put the [onus] on you that you are now going to make the fight between two guys in their prime just like you did.”
Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy Promotions
Ryan Garcia speaks at a New York press conference to promote his April 20 bout against Devin Haney.
De La Hoya and Garcia have had an up-and-down relationship, to say the least, and though they appeared to reconcile at Tuesday's news conference, there is still a Nevada lawsuit ongoing between them. Garcia, though, knows enough of De La Hoya's past that he emulated him when he forced a bout with Gervonta Davis.
After Garcia destroyed Javier Fortuna in Los Angeles on July 16, 2022, he called out Davis. And while there were ups and downs in the negotiations, Garcia remained firm and wouldn't let his side make another fight. And so, on April 22, 2023, Davis and Garcia fought at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in a bout that was a huge financial success, even if Garcia failed to perform adequately from a boxing standpoint.
Haney not only has shown he knows how to use his talent -- Regis Prograis had been an outstanding super lightweight champion, and Haney tore him apart, making it look simple in the process when they met in San Francisco, Calif., on Dec. 9 -- but he's understood how to work the business end to get the biggest and best fights for himself.
He went to Australia not once, but twice, to fight George Kambosos Jr., in order to unify the lightweight titles, because he knew that's what it took. He didn't worry about playing B-side to Kambosos or fighting in Kambosos' home country or even competing when it looked for a long time like Australian immigration officials weren't going to grant his father a visa to enter the country.
He never wavered, insisted he would fight no matter what and then went out and pummeled Kambosos twice.
He took a bout against veteran Vasiliy Lomachenko when he didn't have to, and though the score was close, he pulled that out. And after that, he moved up to get Prograis' belt and then said yes when Garcia came calling.
Garcia can be odd at times and he first switched from Haney to Rolly Romero and then was stunned when Romero took a fight with Isaac Cruz. Haney, though, could have done like many in his position would have done and said Garcia is unstable, not sure of what he wants and moved on. Instead, he accepted the bout when it was offered and has vowed to win it.
It's what De La Hoya did so often and so well and it's clear Haney and his father were paying attention. De La Hoya, who promotes Garcia, couldn't help but be impressed.
“This is the weight class to watch, this is the fight to watch, [and it features] the best fighting the best," De La Hoya said. "When I started Golden Boy, that was my vision to have the best fight the best and we're here now today."
Hopkins, the former middleweight champion and now a Golden Boy partner, noted, "These two young fighters, these two young men, not kids, got to understand that to be great, you must do great things and fight the best in the division. That's what Golden Boy sets out to do."
The winner could turn out to be the modern-day De La Hoya, who was both a great fighter and a great pay-per-view seller because he picked the right opponents.
They've fought six times in the amateurs, starting when they were 10 and then ending when they were 16, and De La Hoya says they're 3-3.
So in a way, this bout is Game 7 for each of them.
"This fight here is like they say, for all the marbles," De La Hoya said. "This fight here is to see who the best fighter at 140-pound division."
Amen.
It's also an opportunity to make a statement to other fighters, that this is the way to go and the way to move a career. Forget about A-side and who walks to the ring first and who gets introduced last, because at the end of the day, no one remembers, and more importantly, no one cares.
Take the best fights you can whenever you can get them, and remain true to the goal of fighting the best as often as possible.
Do that and you'll become wealthy, like De La Hoya did, and the sport will be vastly healthier.