Ryan Garcia’s Next Steps, De La Hoya On His Abusive Childhood

Oscar De La Hoya is still very much behind Ryan Garcia as he outlines his views on the fighter’s future. 

The two are currently in a lawsuit after Garcia alleged that there had been a breach of contract.

The 140 pounder cited claims that he was allowed to box on any network via pay-per-view which was not honored when he fought Gervonta Davis.

Instead, Garcia was allegedly told that DAZN would put on the fight because of an exclusive agreement with Golden Boy.

As Garcia sued, De La Hoya sought to make their former honor the contract. While there are still some issues that need ironing out, De La Hoya is pressing ahead with his plans to make Garcia a force once again.

As such, he insisted on Garcia having a fight against a lesser-known name at 140 before jumping in at the deep end. 

“We have options for Ryan Garcia to bring him back, possibly in November, Maybe and then he can fight a mega-fight if he wants for January or February.

“If Ryan moves up to 140, this is my advice because people have to remember, I’ve been there, and I’ve done that. So if he’s moving up to 140, he should have a tune-up fight at 1 40. He should get his feet wet at 140,” De La Hoya

This would appear to be a wise move since Garcia’s confidence will have been rocked by the loss to Davis. However, if he can rebuild with Derrick James, then Garcia could bounce back once again.

De La Hoya’s Troubled Childhood

De La Hoya may have been a six-division world champion, but his struggles outside of the ring were equally profound. 

Following the release of his documentary (The Golden Boy) on July 24th, 2023, via HBO, De La Hoya’s personal life and childhood became more open. In particular, his relationship with his mother Cecilia.

De La Hoya’s mother passed away from breast cancer two years before the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where the boxer would end up winning a gold medal.

This had a major impact since it was Cecilia’s wish for her son to pick up a gold medal. And given that De La Hoya ended up achieving that, it left him with many mixed emotions.

“When I got home (from the Olympics), all I could think about was my mother. I just wanted to have a moment to feel it all but I couldn’t,” De La Hoya stated 

Despite missing out on the opportunity to celebrate with his mother, things were not so cordial between the pair.

De La Hoya recalled an instance of physical violence when he was five years old in response to an incident that happened when he was playing stickball.

And given that the boxer could have died, he was shocked to see his mother’s reaction to him nearly being run over.

“I end up in the bottom of the f—–’ car. For some miraculous reason I was untouched. I could see my mother running down the street. I was waiting for her to give me a hug. First thing she does is just hit me. Beats the crap of out me. My soul is out of my f—— body. I hated when she hit me,” De La Hoya

But through it all, De La Hoya did admit that he had some regrets. The failure to express his true feelings ultimately still stayed with him now that his mother is no longer around. 

“She was gone. I never had the courage to tell her I love her. I wish I did,” De La Hoya

If you fancy checking out the documentary, you can watch it right here.