Who Will Replace Ryan Garcia In Golden Boy’s July Return On DAZN?

It appears that Ryan Garcia’s negotiating tactics have not sat well with Oscar De La Hoya. Originally set to open Golden Boy’s return to action on July 4, Garcia will no longer be a part of those plans.

Following contract disputes and public callouts, De La Hoya decided to act. He took to social media to state that Garcia is off the card, while another prospect in Vergil Ortiz Jr. will take his place. An opponent has not been announced yet.

“Due to Team @KingRyanG decision not to accept a July 4th bout, we will now return in late July with the future of boxing. @vergilortiz, more exciting details to follow @GoldenBoyBoxing”

Due to Team @KingRyanG decision not to accept a July 4th bout, we will now return in late July with the future of boxing 🥊 @vergilortiz , more exciting details to follow @GoldenBoyBoxing

— Oscar De La Hoya (@OscarDeLaHoya) June 15, 2020

Ortiz (15-0) made his professional debut in 2016 after winning the 2013 Junior Olympics. The 22-year-old fought four times in 2019 and beat Brad Solomon in his last fight in December via TKO. Ortiz was meant to face Samuel Vargas back in March, but the fight was called off due to the coronavirus.

Golden Boy President Eric Gomez ended up confirming to ESPN that Ortiz would be fighting on the card that would reportedly be in California and streamed on DAZN. Gomez ended up saying that Garcia’s team was made an offer but they did not take it.

Recently, the 21-year-old Garcia (20-0) hinted that his fight may have been off on social media, and went on a rant against DAZN and Golden Boy for offering him $200,000 to compete. Garcia believes he is not getting the respect he deserves as a big-name fighter for the promotion.

“I’m not getting respect in the business matters,” Garcia stated to Sports Illustrated. “They promote me as one of the biggest names that they have got. I’m not feeling the extra love that they claim I’m getting shown. I’m one of their most-viewed fighters. Guaranteed, top-three. I’m getting the views. I’m getting the clicks. More than anyone but Canelo [Alvarez] and [Anthony] Joshua. Where’s my love?”

This is not the first time Garcia has quarreled with De la Hoya and Golden Boy. Back in September, Garcia used his social media presence to complain about an opponent change, and how Golden Boy wasn’t treating him fairly. The WBC Silver Lightweight Champion last fought in February, beating Francisco Fonseca via knockout.

“I still believe that Ryan did sign the best, most lucrative contract in his situation,” Garcia advisor Lupe Valencia told ESPN. “But they asked us to come back and operate on a limited budget. We just weren’t willing to do it. So it’s not that there’s all of a sudden a disagreement about our contract, it’s just that they wanted to come back with less money than they would operate with normally. We just decided not to do it.”

Valencia would end up stating that DAZN wanted boxing to return in September but Golden Boy requested an earlier date with Garcia headlining. Garcia is reportedly requesting $500,000 for a fight.

A 15-time national amateur champion, Garcia is hoping to face fighters like Gervonta Davis before retiring at 26. Stay tuned for further developments regarding the issues between Golden Boy and Garcia.