Oscar De La Hoya Believes Garcia-Haney Will Top Garcia-Davis

Oscar De La Hoya believes Ryan Garcia vs. Devin Haney is a bigger fight than Garcia vs. Gervonta Davis.

Garcia and Davis fought last year in a highly-anticipated matchup with ‘Tank’ winning the fight by TKO. Garcia ended up returning to the win column and will now face Haney in a highly-anticipated matchup, which De La Hoya says is a bigger fight.

“New York was crazy,” De La Hoya said. “I’ve never seen anything like it. I can tell you that the press conference in New York was way bigger than Tank and Ryan. Way bigger. It was crazy. They’re hardcore [fight fans]. If you’re talking too much – ‘Get the hell out of the stage.’ It was cool.”

Ultimately, Oscar De La Hoya knows Ryan Garcia is getting counted out on Saturday, but he is looking forward to his fighter proving the doubters wrong on April 20.

“There’s something different that me and Ryan have experienced,” De La Hoya said. “Ryan’s in that elite level, where he’s a good-looking fighter. Not too many of us are around, believe me. Maybe just two – me and Ryan. So it’s an added pressure, it’s an elite level. Yes, you’re a good fighter. Yes, you can train hard. Yes, you can win world titles and a lot of money. ‘Wait, but he’s good looking. Let me throw rocks at him because he’s good looking’. It’s a whole different mentality. I used it to train harder. I used it to kick your ass inside the ring. 

“That’s exactly what I told him at our dinner meeting: ‘You have to perform. At the end of the day, you have to win fights and you have to win titles.’ He’s a pressure fighter,” De La Hoya said of Garcia. “He’s a guy who understands, who knows how to put on a show. If Haney brings it and Ryan brings it, we’re going to have a war. We’re going to have an exciting fight.”

Do you agree with Oscar De La Hoya?