Oscar De La Hoya has dismissed concerns surrounding Ryan Garcia’s weight.
Garcia is scheduled to challenge Devin Haney for his junior welterweight title on Saturday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. At Tuesday’s face-to-face with the champion and Wednesday’s media workout, Garcia appeared to be a fighter on course to weigh in at 147 pounds.
Observers were already concerned about Garcia’s mental health due to his erratic behavior since Saturday’s fight was signed, but De La Hoya, who was weight-drained when producing his poorest performance against Manny Pacquiao, in 2008, in what would be De La Hoya’s final fight – insists that Garcia’s fitness is not an issue.
“No concerns whatsoever,” De La Hoya said. “He’ll make weight.
“He’s been 1000 percent focused. Serious. What he does on social media takes 10 seconds to pull up. He’s working hard. He’s been working hard for the last two months.
“Now you can imagine – you see how big he is – now you can imagine how depleted he was when he fought ‘Tank’ [Gervonta Davis, who stopped Garcia in April 2023 at a catchweight of 136 pounds]. Any expert in boxing will tell you – one pound makes a huge difference. Half a pound. We’re pretty glad that there’s no rehydration clause here. Ryan will be 100 percent.
“There’s no rehydration clause here, so that’s a big one. I think we’re gonna see a full-blown 140-pounder in Ryan Garcia. He’s not gonna be depleted. Different styles, but the fact that [Haney and Garcia, as amateurs were] 3-3 – they know each other. The seventh one – this is for all the marbles. This fight here is gonna be a very high, intense, entertaining fight.”
The figurehead of Golden Boy Promotions was therefore asked if Garcia would defeat Davis if a rematch took place at 140 pounds, and he responded: “Any day, 140 any day. I’ll tell you one thing – Ryan Garcia is the cash cow.
“We’ll have a sellout crowd on Saturday night,” De La Hoya continued. “PPV numbers are going to go through the roof. Not because of Devin – because of Ryan. And it’s crazy, because I don’t know if you’ve heard this quote: ‘Just because you beat Tiger Woods doesn’t make you Tiger Woods.
“Well guess what? Ryan Garcia – he’s literally like a Tiger Woods. Whether he wins or whether he loses, the money follows him, the publicity follows him. That’s why we’re all here – to watch a big event.
“I love Tank. He’s a great fighter. There’s no question about that. But if we do a no-rehydration clause, it’s a whole different story.”
