Oscar De La Hoya sent a deadline earlier this week, demanding a contract for his fighter, Ryan Garcia, to face Gervonta Davis in April.
The fight has been announced and verbally agreed, with ‘Tank’ Davis coming through his interim bout and clearing the way for it, but De La Hoya’s statement hinted that things were not as solid behind the scenes as fans once believed.
In response, the president of Showtime, Stephen Espinoza, said that it was commonplace for terms to be verbally agreed without a contract coming until much later in the process.
Whilst De La Hoya simply doesn’t agree, he had a positive update for Fight Hub nonetheless.
“The terms have been agreed upon. The venue, the money, the split for the fighters … everything is great. All we need it to put it on the long form.
I’ve never heard of a fight getting made a day before the fight or the week of the event. It’s unheard of, so I don’t know exactly what Espinoza was talking about – especially when you’re working with a different promoter like us and PBC.”
“I’m hoping that we get this signed today. Because there’s no deal whatsoever, it’s all talk right now. We have agreed to terms, but I’ve always said you don’t have a deal until it’s a signed deal”
“Right after this press conference I’m going over to Golden Boy headquarters and sitting down with Ryan – and I should have a contract by then so we can get this show on the road.”
Later, the fighter turned promoter posted a picture beside Garcia with the contract in hand, confirming the date of April 15.
👀 @OscarDeLaHoya@RyanGarciapic.twitter.com/cBovofB8Zp
— Golden Boy (@GoldenBoyBoxing) January 18, 2023
The fight – to be set at a catchweight of 136lb – represents a welcome change in the sport of two young, undefeated stars putting their records on the line without a belt at stake.
The Golden Boy team will now add their notes before final sign off and official promotion. The development marks progress after a tense few days in negotiations – something many fans who have been stung before were waiting on.
Despite the history of poor matchmaking in the sport, this one may just happen.