Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Zuffa Boxing, TKO Group Holdings, Paramount, and Saudi Arabia’s Sela, accusing the parties of stepping on its contractual territory with WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs).
The letter came after Golden Boy discovered that Zuffa Boxing had been laying the groundwork to unveil a September 12 matchup between Garcia and Conor Benn at Sunday’s UFC Freedom 250 on the White House lawn. The card streams on Paramount+, but Golden Boy maintains Garcia is tied to DAZN through his existing promotional deal.
“Golden Boy has not approved of or agreed to the terms of any such bout, nor has Golden Boy been involved in the negotiations of any such bout,” Ricardo P. Cestero (Golden Boy attorney)
The timing raised eyebrows given that De La Hoya suggested he was prepared to work with White for the sake of getting the fight made: “As much as I hate it, let’s go. Why not? Because the fighters want this fight. Ryan wants it. If that’s what Ryan wants, that’s what he’s going to get. It’s a matter of details, a matter that all parties are happy.”