‘That’s what a fighter should be’: De La Hoya credits Garcia’s willingness to face all-comers
Oscar De La Hoya says Ryan Garcia not only says he’s willing to face the best in the sport, but is actually willing to do it.
Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya takes some time to talk to boxing media about Ryan Garcia and his upcoming fight against Devin Haney. De La Hoya says he’s confident Garcia will come into the fight well prepared despite whatever rumors may be going around, and that he loves that Garcia has no problem about making the biggest fights happen against the best opponents out there.
De La Hoya on the rumors of the Ryan Garcia and Derrick James partnership not working so well
“Obviously rumors are rumors. Whatever we see on social media is one thing, and whatever they’re doing in the ring is another thing, in the gym, the things we don’t see. All I can tell you is, from Bernard Hopkins, is that they are in the best shape of their lives. And I believe them, and it means Derrick James is doing something right.
“So I think Ryan Garcia and Derrick James got all the little kinks out of the way in their first fight with Oscar Duarte, and now we’re going to see a Ryan that we’ve probably never seen before...I think he’s going to be a complete fighter, I think he’s going to surprise us.”
On Garcia saying he would knockout Isaac Cruz
“I love the confidence, I really do. I love the confidence he has in himself and that’s what a fighter should have all the time. But what I love about Ryan the most is that when he says it, he wants to fight him, like he’ll make the fight...that’s the difference with Ryan, he’s not just talking. I mean think about it, he fought Tank and now he’s fighting Haney and he’s talking about fighting Isaac Cruz, so it’s literally music to my ears when I hear a fighter say ‘I want to fight the best’ and really mean it. That’s what a fighter should be.”