Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, revealed he missed the Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia post-fight press conference due to receiving death threats throughout fight week.
Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, revealed he missed the Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia post-fight press conference due to serious concerns for his security. During an Instagram post on Monday, De La Hoya mentioned that throughout the fight week in Las Vegas, he had received death threats. The security team advised him it was too dangerous to attend the event’s post-fight press conference held this past Saturday at T-Mobile Arena, following Davis’ seventh-round knockout victory over Garcia.
In his statement, De La Hoya also discussed an incident involving boxing legend Bernard Hopkins, a partner of Golden Boy Promotions, who was banned from attending the event. Hopkins was accused of foul play at the Davis vs. Garcia weigh-ins when it was alleged that he had testosterone cream on his hands when he touched Gervonta Davis. De La Hoya explained that Hopkins, who wanted to help Davis from falling off the stage, was banned by Davis’ promoter. Consequently, he could not enter the ring or be involved in any promotional activities for the fight.
De La Hoya praised both fighters in his statement, saying, “First of all, congratulations to Gervonta Davis, you fought a hell of a fight. My hat’s off to you. You had a great game plan, beautiful body shot. Ryan Garcia, we are proud of you, the world is proud of you.” He added, “Ryan Garcia made this happen, ‘Tank’ made this happen. We had a great fight, the best man won.” Garcia, at 24 years of age, experienced the first loss of his professional career due to a devastating punch to the liver in the seventh round. Davis, on the other hand, declared himself “the face of boxing” after the win, which brought his professional record to 29-0 with 27 knockouts.