Oscar De La Hoya on Ryan Garcia: ‘His Numbers Are Bigger In NY Than They Are In L.A’

Golden Boy Promotions hosted the second part of their two-city tour, which created a ton of different headlines. Before the media tour kicked off, Golden Boy Promotions Chairman and CEO Oscar De La Hoya announced the fight on X, with the venue being the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. This was a surprise move as most insiders were pegging this fight between Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) & Ryan Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) to land in Las Vegas, NV, at one of their venues. There have been reports on why the fight won’t be in Las Vegas, but in the end, the venue won’t be changing, and on April 20, Haney and Garcia will meet in front of what should be a ruckus crowd in Brooklyn.

During the L.A. press conference, De La Hoya made himself available to the media afterward to answer any questions associated with the event. FightsATW got a few minutes with the “Golden Boy” and asked whether he was surprised by the reaction from fans and media in NYC, given that Garcia has never headlined an event at the media capital of the world.

De La Hoya, dressed in white from head to toe, gave his million-dollar smile and answered enthusiastically. “What Ryan doesn’t know is that his numbers are bigger in NY than they are in L.A.,” said De La Hoya. “The reason why this fight is in NY is because you become a coast-to-coast champion. You become a world global star. Behind the thought, there’s a madness that I think of. I take a look at the history of the sport, who fought in NY, who made it, and who’s the biggest. Imagine the winner of this fight becomes a global star. That’s the bottom line. So, that’s the thought behind it.”

While fans will have different opinions on social media, at the end of the day, the numbers are what counts. According to a screenshot provided by Garcia on social media, where he discussed the ticket count with GBP PR Jane Murcia, the event had already sold 1,600 tickets just hours into the pre-sale portion of the event. Garcia was upset that the ticket prices were so high (the upper section starts at 350 dollars) but was told in the same screenshot that the prices were set by De La Hoya and his manager/lawyer, Lupe Valencia.

The early ticket sales validate what De La Hoya was saying about Garcia’s popularity in NYC, so the thinking is that the event will sell out by the time fight night comes around. With all of the buzz coming out of the press tour, there is no question that Haney vs. Garcia will be the hottest ticket in town on April 20.

Abraham Gonzalez

Abraham Gonzalez is the founder of FightsATW. His journalistic work has been published and used across several platforms to include online, network TV and promotional companies. He is an American Public University alumnus and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). Abraham was the Managing Editor for NYFights, Big Fight Weekend, contributed to FanSidedMMA and ProBoxTV.

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