Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya spends some time talking to Fight Hub TV about Floyd Schofield’s weekend fight against Lucas Bahdi, plans for Vergil Ortiz to fight Keith Thurman on the upcoming David Benavidez undercard, why he wasn’t at the Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn fight, and more. Here’s some excerpts of what he had to say with the full video interview below.
DLH on Schofield’s upcoming fight
“When you get a kid like Schofield and take him to that world title, you help him, you try to guide him to that world title, it’s so
rewarding, it’s so gratifying. Oct. 10, I do have to do my homework when it comes to how many world champions we helped. It’s a lot. Since the beginning, it’s got to be in the hundreds. So, I’m proud of what we do.”
On the biggest fight he thinks he can make for Schofield
“It might not even be at 135 pounds. ‘Kid’ is a big kid. Kid Austin is a big ‘35 pounder and he’s only growing. I really do believe 147 is going to be where Kid is going to shine, like really develop to this beast. I believe that weight class will be the pinnacle of his career. So, yeah, looking forward to those fights there and we all know the welterweight division is very hot right now.
“I strongly believe Kid can become undisputed at 135, 140, but 147 will be his weight class.”
On plans for Vergil Ortiz to fight Keith Thurman
“Yeah, that’s the talk. That’s the talk, to fight him on the Benavidez card, which would be awesome. Imgaine Benavidez and Vergil Ortiz. I mean please, you’ll sell out any arena, easy. We’re working out things with Keith Thurman. It’s not the opponent yet because things are being worked out but we’re hoping that we can get Vergil’s career back on track.”
On why Vergil doesn’t go straight into a Boots fight
“I wish it would’ve been the Boots fight but we can’t keep our fighter idol for so long. I mean, Boots is going to fight who, Kelly? Josh Kelly, is it? Then Fundora is going to fight somebody else. So, we had to keep Vergil busy and not idle and so Keith Thurman is one guy that’s always willing to fight the best, which is very cool…That is the plan but you never know what happens after that, so we’ll see.”
On Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn
“Everything’s cool…Ryan had a great victory, I’m very happy for him that he was able to knockout Conor Benn obviously the way I expected. Look, people were saying ‘oh my gosh, this is a huge fight.’ No. It turned out the way I actually envisioned it. Conor Benn is a great fighter, don’t get me wrong. He’s a good fighter in the UK but there’s a difference when you come fight in the US. It’s just a whole different level.“
On not being present at the fight
“Ryan and I talked. He wanted me to walk him out…I have so much information. I’ve been keeping quiet, don’t get me wrong. I cannot wait for this ultimate clap back. So I don’t want to spill the beans here but it’s going to be powerful…But me and Ryan, we’re cool.
“I wasn’t going to show up [after being asked not to come] to be embarrassed. I mean, it was a Zuffa f-ckin’ event…But I was not going to show up to be embarrassed and that’s exactly what they were going to do to me. I was not going to do that so I made the wise decision to not go.”
On the Eddie Hearn vs Dana White beef
“I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would be Team Eddie. I’m Team Eddie. I never thought I would be Team Eddie. He is cooking Dana White, it is hilarious. I think he took a book out of my edits that I do with my videos, posting Dana White videos and making fun of him and this and that. But it’s crazy how Dana has no clue what’s going on.
“They’re asking him about boxing, they’re asking him about the UFC, it’s like, he doesn’t know what’s happening…I think Eddie Hearn has done a number on him and I’m laughing all the way to the bank.”
