Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya spends some time with Fight Hub TV to discuss the state of several of his fighters, upcoming plans for Floyd ‘Kid Austin’ Schofield, William Zepeda, ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez and more. Here’s some of what he had to say with the full video interview below.
De La Hoya on Schofield going into his first title shot
“He’s focused. He’s laser focused. One thing about Floyd Schofield is that he’s a professional when it comes to his training. Even off training, in between fights, he’s always in shape, always eating the right foods and
training in the gym. But when he has the fight and he’s ready to start camp, this guy is — I’ve never seen anything like it. The way he locks in is remarkable.
“I feel that Floyd Schofield has done the work, has run the miles, hit the bags, sparring, everything. He’s ready. There’s no excuses whatsoever.”
On his preference to match Schofield against Abdullah Mason or William Zepeda
“I as a promoter have to figure out what the best move is for my fighters, and at the same time make the big fights happen…We do have William Zepeda. There is Abdullah Mason, who we have no problem working with to make the big fights happen. So if Abdullah Mason is going to come down and call out Floyd Schofield, yeah, be my guest. It’s going to be a great show, Saturday.”
On plans for Zepeda’s return
“We’re looking at first quarter of next year. We are looking at fighting him in Mexico. I believe after his world title performance it deserves a homecoming for him in Mexico. So, we’re talking logistics with DAZN, with the whole team internal, and we’ll announce that soon.”
On plans for Zurdo Ramirez
“I’m not counting out Zurdo. I think maybe there’s a chance of him going to heavyweight. Who knows. Look, Zurdo fought a machine, he fought a machine that throws punches in bunches. No one else throws punches in bunches like Benavidez…So what happened to Zurdo, he fought the best, he came up short, and now it’s time to move on to the next. And that’s the bottom line, it’s not how you lose, it’s how you come back. Zurdo, I know he has it in his heart to come back bigger and better and stronger than ever.”
On Dana White saying he had no intention of embarrasing him at the Garcia vs Benn fight
“That’s bullshit. It’s bullshit the way he works. Come on. We were going to walk in — first of all, I normally get my access through the tunnel, the VIP, because it’s a Ryan weekend, Mexican Independence Day weekend. How can I walk in through the general public — I won’t make it to my seat!
“My seats were in back, not where Turki sits, where historically my seats are always right there where the promoter is supposed to be. So, yeah, I was going to be set up, that’s the bottom line. It’s okay.”
