Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy, other promoters work together for Saturday's Phoenix card
Oscar De La Hoya's name and legacy are still highly relevant in pro boxing, as is his Golden Boy Promotions company that represents fighters and puts on some of the top live events in the sport.
De La Hoya said 2024 will be a big year for boxing, and part of that belief comes from his desire to have the fight game's top promoters work together more often to give fans the best fights, live and/or on pay per view.
The former U.S. Olympic gold medalist and 10-time world champion who is enshrined in the Boxing Hall of Fame spoke Thursday in Phoenix at the pre-fight news conference for Golden Boy's Jaime Munguia versus British super middleweight contender John Ryder, who is managed by Matchroom Boxing.
Phoenix is a fight town
"That's exactly what I had said early on, is we must work together. This is exactly what has to take place. Every promoter working together, this is exactly what has to take place," De La Hoya said after the press conference at Footprint Center, where a nine-fight card featuring fighters represented by four leading promoters takes place Saturday starting at about 3 p.m.
"Every promoter working together and this is what we get. You know, I'm happy to be working with (Top Rank's) Bob Arum as well. And so as long as we can work together, we get the big fights," De La Hoya added. "Tickets are going excellent. I think this is a great fight town.
"You guys know your boxing," De La Hoya said.
Eddie Hearn, who runs Matchroom Boxing, would back up what De La Hoya said. Hearn has had several entertaining fight nights in Phoenix and Glendale at Desert Diamond Arena, and the fans that bought tickets have seen memorable main events.
Hearn, Fernando Beltrán (CEO of Tijuana-based Zanfer Promotions) and Sampson Lewcowicz, who heads Sampson Boxing, were all present at Thursday's news conference. Sampson Boxing and Golden Boy co-manage IBF women's flyweight champion Gabriela Fundora, who is on Saturday's card in Phoenix for the first defense of her title.
Hearn said he was invited to Las Vegas Wednesday to meet with Arum and another main rival promoter, Premier Boxing Champions.
"I feel that as long as it makes sense for everyone, everyone's always willing to do it. But no one's really been proactive to do it. We all have obligations to fighters," Hearn said. "And we sound like, I've got 20 guys who are looking for or need fights. So have you. So have you. And so we should just be talking and saying, here's some guys that could fight each other."
Representing Phoenix in the ring
Phoenix native David Benavidez told De La Hoya he will be at Footprint Center for the Munguia-Ryder fight, as Benavidez, the number one contender for the WBC super middleweight world title, could fight the winner before he reaches a deal to face undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez.
Munguia is 42-0 with 33 knockouts, but hasn't faced as many high-caliber opponents as Benavidez, who is also undefeated with far fewer professional fights.
Ryder, 35 with a 32-6 record, went all 12 rounds with Alvarez in Mexico last May, but lost a unanimous decision.
"I really believe that the real winner is going to be the people who are going to watch the fight on DAZN (streaming platform), the people who are going to be seeing the bright lights, those are the real winners," Beltrán said.
There are two other title fights on the DAZN broadcast card Saturday, for a total of four. And Hearn said he's hoping to put together a main event between Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez and Juan Francisco Estrada, two winners in the Phoenix area in previous separate fights, that will take place in Arizona in the summer.
"We strongly feel that this card on Saturday night will be the beginning of many, many great cards that all of the promoters collectively put together," De La Hoya said.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix area a true hotbed for big-time live boxing, promoters say
