Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins faced a significant shot at their characters in the aftermath of the Ryan Garcia victory in New York.
Former world super welterweight champion Ishe Smith did not hold back when discussing the Golden Boy Promotions partners’ actions. Smith says De La Hoya and Hopkins abandoned Garcia when he lost to Gervonta Davis last year. However, when Garcia defeated Devin Haney in spectacular fashion this time, they were all over the young superstar at the final bell.
‘Sugar Shay’ wasn’t happy and made his feelings crystal clear on the matter.
“Let me tell you about these two fraud mf’s. When Garcia lost to Tank, they didn’t even show up to the press conference and left him dead a** by himself. Now look at their fake a**es.
“Uncle Tom on the right, I don’t even know how to describe the left, fake b******s. They still made a s***load of money off that Tank fight. All they have been doing is making money off the kid.
“They could have showed up to the presser. It says more about their characters,” added the ex-Floyd Mayweather fighter.
Smith had far from finished. In reaction to Haney’s defeat and with some kicking him while he was down, the Las Vegas native stated: “This game has some serious lame-a** individuals in it.
“Applauding a man’s defeat that has accomplished so much in this sport at such a young age is some serious sucker s***. If the man never fought again he is a sure Hall of Famer right now. It says more about you than him.”
Haney, indeed, has a lot more to offer the sport. “The Dream has one defeat against a resume filled with titles and standout performances. His win over Vasiliy Lomachenko will forever come under debate. Still, the fact he hung there with the Ukrainian master for twelve rounds in a close fight is a testament to his obvious quality.
Haney can return big at 147 pounds, as there should be no way he boils down to 140 again. He looked gaunt for the third fight in a row and has to give himself the conditioning to be more competitive at welterweight.
De La Hoya and Hopkins’ relationship with Garcia has been shaky for well over a year. For now, the partnership works, but only for now. There will come a time in the not-too-distant future when Garcia realizes that being a free agent with his own promotional company behind him will be the best move for him.
Ryan Garcia is a few victories away from being in the Terence Crawford mold in the Pound for Pound top three. Maybe two more decisive wins from challenging Naoya Inoue for the top spot, depending on who he fights.
A rematch triumph over Gervonta Davis and a move up in weight to win a welterweight or super welterweight title should see Garcia being considered one of the best fighters in the world. Whether Golden Boy will be along for the ride is another entirely different story.
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
