Oscar De La Hoya has addressed rumours of a potential showdown between Ryan Garcia and Floyd Mayweather, despite not being directly involved in such discussions.
If it does take place, then Garcia has insisted on a fully-sanctioned professional bout, so as to defend his WBC title and attempt to scupper Mayweather’s 50-0 record.
The 28-year-old became a world welterweight champion by dethroning Mario Barrios, who he dropped and unanimously outpointed in their one-sided February encounter.
Even more dominant, however, was his latest performance against Conor Benn, with a heavy second-round knockdown leading to the challenger being stopped on his feet last month.
Since then, Garcia has flirted with the idea of facing Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz while, more recently, being linked to a bizarre matchup with Mayweather.
The 49-year-old was supposed to return to action last month, only for his planned rematch with Manny Pacquiao to be cancelled after the emergence of a multi-million dollar lawsuit by CSI Sports Events.
Naturally, this development has only enhanced speculation that Mayweather is experiencing financial difficulty, despite earning eye-watering figures during his Hall of Fame fighting career.
As for a possible clash with Garcia, the WBC champion’s promoter, De La Hoya, has told Fight Hub TV that he would gladly work with his former rival on making the fight happen, but only if his 50-0 probably record is on the line.
“I don’t know what has been going on. But you know Ryan; you know Floyd – if they wanna make a huge fight happen … hey, let’s do it. It will be interesting only if it’s a real fight.”
While Garcia’s relationship with Golden Boy has often seemed complicated, he is nonetheless expected to have one more fight with De La Hoya’s promotional outfit before becoming a free agent.
