The absence of Ryan Garcia‘s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, at the first official pre-fight press conference for the title defense against Conor Benn has become a major talking point. Garcia’s recent comments about their differences further amplified concerns.

Given the feud he has with Zuffa Boxing head Dana White, who is promoting the event, Oscar De La Hoya feels he is being deliberately sidelined for such a marquee event. During an interview with Ariel Helwani, the former six-division world champion expressed his frustration with Dana White and the rest of his Zuffa Boxing team.

“I mean, how how how f–king petty are these guys not to include me and not to, you know, make sure I’m not on stage,” De la Hoya told Ariel Helwani. “Like what are they afraid I am going to sock Dana in the nose?”

The former world champion boxer insisted that he is going to be part of the Garcia-Benn fight as a co-promoter despite White and his team’s best attempts to keep him away.

“I mean, of course I’m going to be there. Of course I’m going to be promoting it. Ryan Garcia, everybody knows, he’s my fighter,” he added. “So, he’s under Golden Boy. We’re looking forward to a big, massive event. I believe the other day Turki Alalshikh said that six million dollars plus have already been sold. So yeah, it’s going to be a big event. So I’m really looking forward to being part of it.”

The bitterness in De La Hoya’s comments stems from what happened around the pre-fight event, particularly the press conference. On Saturday, July 18, at Fanatics Fest New York, Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn appeared for the press conference for their upcoming bout scheduled on the Mexican Independence Day weekend.

With his promoter Dana White presiding over the meeting, Benn had his father, former world champion Nigel Benn, by his side. Garcia, meanwhile, came with his father and trainer Henry Garcia and lawyer Lupe Valencia. The only person missing from the dais was Oscar De La Hoya.

According to the former world champion-turned promoter, he was not even aware that the event was taking place.

De La Hoya felt the secrecy likely stemmed from his fractious relationship with Dana White. Initially friends during his boxing days, the pair eventually ended up on opposite sides once De La Hoya started promoting MMA fights, and the beef continues to this day.

Last month, reports indicated that Golden Boy was preparing a cease-and-desist against Dana White and Zuffa Boxing to prevent them from “any negotiations or discussions” with Ryan Garcia without them being involved.

Laughing off speculations that the meeting with Dana White might turn tense and even physical, De La Hoya assured that, as a co-promoter of the event, he expects things to remain professional. With slightly over a month remaining before the fight on September 12 in Las Vegas, De La Hoya aims to move forward despite their contentious history. To that end, he even appears to have sorted things out with his star client Ryan Garcia.

Oscar De La Hoya and Ryan Garcia turn the page

Helwani then asked whether things were now smooth between De La Hoya and Garcia.

The Golden Boy Promotions head replied that he had had a conversation with the WBC welterweight champion. Speaking with the Canadian MMMA journalist, Garcia spoke about how hurt he was when, weeks ago, De La Hoya, while talking about the Benn fight, said, “Nobody’s asking for this fight.” Given a choice, the promoter insisted he would rather see Garcia in a rematch with Devin Haney.

The only reason he seemingly gave was that Turki Alalshikh is partners with Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing. With that in mind, it is natural for the Riyadh Season head to back the Benn fight since the English welterweight is promoted by White’s boxing promotion.

The situation has clearly improved from those acrimonious days, as De La Hoya delved into the developments that followed.

“We’re going to make sure that this event is big. We’re going to make sure that Ryan gets what he deserves,” De la Hoya said. “That he’s treated the way he deserves, and just make sure that he’s ready and prepared to go up and take the throne from Conor Ben. I mean, (Conor) has no throne, but I’m saying, you know, make sure that he goes out there 100% and beats Conor Benn.”

Revealing further details, the Olympic gold medalist said that it was Ryan Garcia who initiated the meeting. Speaking heart-to-heart, they opened up and agreed there would be no more disparaging comments about each other.

Putting aside De La Hoya’s friction with Dana White, for fans, it should be relieving that a major obstacle to one of the year’s biggest fights is no longer an issue, given De La Hoya is now on board to support his fighter.

De la Hoya deserves appreciation, as the situation has shown his willingness to be flexible and make adjustments. Garcia’s ambitions and business and promotional needs may explain those changes. Yet, it is hard to ignore that just a year ago, citing broadcasting differences, De la Hoya had put his foot down when talks of a fight against YouTuber-turned-fighter Jake Paul emerged.

While the difference in weight class was an issue, the biggest hindrance to the matchup was the broadcasting situation. While Paul’s fighters were recently broadcast on Netflix, Garcia’s promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, has an exclusive partnership with DAZN.

Given that history, it’s a significant shift for Oscar De La Hoya and his team.