Of course there are obstacles, but Oscar De La Hoya doesn’t see those when it comes to making the biggest in-house bout he can arrange as head of Golden Boy Promotions.
Instead of getting bogged down in Ryan Garcia’s suspension or the weight difference between last year’s lightweight Garcia and current junior-middleweight elite contender Vergil Ortiz Jr. (21-0, 21 KOs), De La Hoya pounced on the suggestion the bout could take place next year.
“The fight can be a superfight. The buildup starts now,” De La Hoya said as Ortiz concluded his news conference for another not-so-tiny impediment before such a bout can happen: Ortiz’s Aug. 10 bout at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas versus WBC interim 154-pound champion Serhii Bohachuk.
“I believe it was Ryan Garcia that called out Vergil. They fought twice in the amateurs; Ryan has two wins. Three strikes and you’re out, so let’s make it in the pros. It’s very doable. That fight at 154 can happen next year at Dallas Cowboys stadium, with Jerry Jones. I’m calling it now: That fight is very doable.”
In the interim, Garcia repeated on social media Friday that he was entering rehab following months of erratic behavior, including the positive PED results that deleted his three-knockdown victory over Devin Haney and triggered fines and a year-long suspension.
“It’s a fantasy matchup,” former 140-pound champion Chris Algieri said of Garcia-Ortiz on Friday’s episode of ProBox TV’s “Deep Waters.” “We’re so many steps away from this ever happening. Ryan is banned until next April. Vergil has a very tough fight ahead of him next month. He’s going to have one or two more fights before he and Ryan can even meet next summer.
“We need to see if Ryan is ever going to fight again. This is just Oscar putting on his promoter’s hat. He knows Ryan pushes numbers, and we’re always talking about [Garcia] now. Oscar is very smart and he utilizes the media expertly.”
De La Hoya also said Thursday that he could anticipate an AT&T Stadium sellout by a potential Ortiz two-belt title fight against a possible unified junior middleweight champion in Errol Spence Jr. if the former three-belt welterweight champion from Texas defeats two-belt owner Sebastian Fundora in a bout proposed for October.
But making Garcia-Ortiz would be an all-Golden Boy affair.
The notion rankled “Deep Waters” analyst Paulie Malignaggi, the former welterweight titleholder, who responded, “Tell me you don’t care about PEDs without telling me you don’t care about PEDs.
“You’re going to tell me a guy who was a lightweight a year ago has trouble making 140 – probably because of performance-enhancers he was taking – is going to now jump up two weight classes in the span of a year and fight one of the biggest punchers in the weight class? A guy [in Ortiz] who can barely make the weight himself?
“I mean, what are we going to say? The only way some of these fights can happen is performance-enhancing drugs. Weight classes matter less and less.”
Yes, it is nearly a year away, and many things will transpire, but De La Hoya, on the heels of re-signing Ortiz to a new multi-fight contract, is doing his best to propose the best possible fights for one of the most talented non-champions in the sport, along with De La Hoya’s lightweight William Zepeda and unbeaten super-middleweight David Benavidez.
Will Ortiz fight Garcia?
As De La Hoya knows, it makes the wait for Garcia’s return all the juicier.
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