Oscar De La Hoya says there was a good reason he didn’t attend the Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia post-fight press conference in support of Garcia.
De La Hoya, the Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, stated Monday on Instagram that “death threats” he received throughout fight week in Las Vegas forced him to miss the event’s post-fight press conference, which was held this past Saturday on the floor of the T-Mobile Arena following Davis’ seventh-round knockout victory over Garcia.
De La Hoya also stated that boxing legend Bernard Hopkins, who is a partner of Golden Boy Promotions, was banned from attending the event following accusations of foul play at the Davis vs. Garcia weigh-ins.
De La Hoya’s statement can be watched and read below.
“First of all, congratulations to Gervonta Davis, you fought a hell of a fight. My hat’s off to you. You had a great game plan, beautiful body shot. Ryan Garcia, we are proud of you, the world is proud of you. You made this fight happen. You wanted this fight, and I’m sure a lot of fighters will learn from you, that you’re daring to be great. But I do want to clarify why Bernard Hopkins and I weren’t at the post-fight press conference. First of all, Bernard Hopkins was accused during the weigh-in of having testosterone cream on his hands and touching Gervonta Davis, when he only wanted to help him because he was going to fall off the stage. So PBC, Gervonta’s promoter, banned him from everything. He couldn’t get inside the ring. He couldn’t do anything during the promotion.
“And so, as for myself, my security team told me, ‘Boss, we’ve got to get the fuck out of here,’ because I received death threats. You guys don’t know this, I received death threats throughout the whole week, and they just said it was simply too dangerous so we got out of there. And plus Eric Gomez, who is my president, who was right there front and center with Ryan Garcia — so there was no issue, no problems. This is all coming from all these PBC minions that are just attacking Ryan, attacking Golden Boy. But it’s all good, it’s all good.
“Ryan Garcia made this happen, ‘Tank’ made this happen. We had a great fight, the best man won. My hat’s off to you. And again, ‘Tank’ Davis, you’re a great fighter. Ryan Garcia, I have your back. Bernard has your back. We’re with you 1,000 percent, and you will be back stronger than ever, better than ever. Guaranteed.”
Garcia, 24, suffered the first loss of his professional career at the hands of Davis after sustaining a devastating punch to the liver midway through the seventh round.
Davis, 28, proclaimed himself to be “the face of boxing” following the highlight-reel finish, which moved his professional record to 29-0 with 27 knockouts.