Oscar De La Hoya has talked up a mega Super Bowl weekend card, February 10th, 2024, once again with the aim of putting on Ryan Garcia vs. Teofimo Lopez and Shakur Stevenson vs. William Zepeda.
The move comes after the news that Showtime would be exiting boxing at the end of the year, as De La Hoya demanded that all promoters come together in order to put on the biggest fights. As of now, reports stress that the Golden Boy promoter is in talks with Bob Arum in order to bring about such a card. However, there are various obstacles that would have to be navigated including the differing networks of DAZN and Top Rank. Lopez and Stevenson are promoted by Arum, while Garcia and Zepeda remain under De La Hoya’s banner. But provided that those issues are resolved, De La Hoya had big plans.
“Anyone there will make the most money possible. Fighters like Devin Haney, Teofimo & Prograis, and anyone at 140 will make sense. The Super Bowl of boxing, we can do something like that. Bob Arum promotes Shakur Stevenson, and he can match him up with our guy William Zepeda, for instance, which would be a terrific fight.
“We can do Ryan against Teofimo on the same card. When I’m talking about the Super Bowl of boxing, I’m talking about the big picture here with the Sphere opening [in Las Vegas]. Imagine that pay-per-view. The numbers would be astronomical,” De La Hoya said
While those plans are admirable, boxing would have to potentially compete with the UFC on the same weekend. And as the current fight climate shows, MMA is posing a serious challenge to the future of boxing. Although more cooperation between promoters could help close the gap, until those mega fights are made, fans will be left none the wiser. After all, finding a balance between putting on the biggest fights and making the most money has not always gone down well.