Oscar De La Hoya believes Turki Alalshikh’s role with Zuffa Boxing is influencing major decisions in the sport, including why Golden Boy, Al Haymon and Bob Arum were not included in a recent boxing peace meeting.
De La Hoya made the comments after Turki said he owns 60 percent of Zuffa and serves as chairman of the board. The Golden Boy promoter suggested that Zuffa’s rise is now being prioritized over established U.S.-based promoters.
He also pointed to reports linking Ryan Garcia to Conor Benn on September 12 in Las Vegas, saying Golden Boy has not been contacted about making the fight despite Garcia still being under contract.
“I have yet to be approached about making this fight,” De La Hoya said. “We signed a two-fight deal for Ryan with the Saudis last year. The first fight was with Barrios, and apparently the Saudis have chosen Conor Benn to be Ryan’s next opponent.”
De La Hoya then connected the situation to Turki’s recent meeting with Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn, saying key American power brokers were left out.
“You left me, Al Haymon and Bob Arum out of your peace meeting,” De La Hoya said. “And guess what? We control the U.S. market.”
The former world champion argued that major fights in America cannot simply be arranged without respecting existing contracts, promoters and broadcast deals.
“You can’t just do whatever you want here in America,” De La Hoya said. “There are laws and legally binding contracts.”
Image Credit: Matchroom