Ryan Garcia Says Oscar De La Hoya Absence Left Him Disappointed
Ryan Garcia is not hiding how he felt when Oscar De La Hoya stayed home on the night he kept the WBC welterweight title. Speaking with Ariel Helwani after stopping Conor Benn in two rounds on September 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Garcia said his longtime Golden Boy promoter never showed, never called, and never sent a congratulations.
Garcia wanted De La Hoya in the building. He said the original walkout plan was built around Mexican legend Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., and he hoped De La Hoya would stand with them.
“In the beginning, it was Julio Cesar Chavez, senior, that was gonna walk out with me, and I wanted to get maybe Oscar right there,” Garcia said. “I think that would be iconic.”
That picture never happened. Garcia told Helwani that other people around the card did not want De La Hoya present. Helwani asked if he meant the TKO side of the co-promotion. Garcia did not name names, but he did not walk it back.
“Honestly, they, nobody wanted him there, and that’s the god honest truth,” Garcia said. When Helwani asked whether Garcia himself wanted him there, the champion answered, “Yeah.”
He also said he was not going to fight that battle on fight week. “Sometimes, you gotta pick your battles,” Garcia said. “It’s not a battle I really wanna pick right here.”
The part that still bothers him is the empty seat. Garcia said De La Hoya could have been ringside even if the walkout was off the table.
“I’ll say this though, I wish Oscar was there,” Garcia said. “I wish he walked out with me, and I wish he woulda been ringside no matter what. That woulda shown his love for me the way that I imagine somebody that’s been with me the whole time to do.”
He added that a seat existed and still went unused. “Okay, they don’t wanna let you walk out, they did have a seat for you,” Garcia said. “It’s just kinda sad that he didn’t show up.”
Helwani asked if De La Hoya reached out after the stoppage. Garcia said no. There was no congratulations either.
“I don’t know why he’s like that,” Garcia said. “He just doesn’t wanna show up for the people he, you know, he’s supposed to love. I don’t know. He’s weird, bro.”
He went further. “He’s missing a part of himself,” Garcia said. “It’s really disappointing. Like, where’s your maturity? Something’s off. Like, bro, you’re living in the past. It’s weird.”
The comments land on a messy promotional night. Garcia remains contracted to Golden Boy. The Benn fight was co-promoted with Zuffa Boxing, and Dana White later said he did not block De La Hoya from the arena. White said he does not know why the Golden Boy boss stayed away. Golden Boy has separately described a fight-day mix-up over who would walk Garcia to the ring. Garcia’s version to Helwani is simpler. He wanted De La Hoya there, a seat was available, and the promoter never took it.
Garcia improved to 26-2 with 21 knockouts when referee Thomas Taylor waved off Benn at 1:25 of the second round. It was his first defense of the WBC welterweight belt he won from Mario Barrios in February at the same building. Benn was dropped by a right hand and then trapped on the ropes until the stoppage. Garcia left Las Vegas talking unification names. The De La Hoya absence is the personal loose end he chose to address first.
That tension matters because the next title fight will still have to clear the same promotional tangle. Garcia is a drawing champion who just made a mandatory look ordinary. De La Hoya is still the promoter on his contract. If they cannot share a ringside seat on a title night in Las Vegas, the next negotiation is going to start from a colder place than the walkout Garcia said he wanted.
Garcia did not threaten to leave Golden Boy on the Helwani show. He did make the standard he expected clear. A promoter who has been with him the whole time, in his words, should have been in the building. On September 12, that did not happen, and days later the champion is still calling it sad.