Eddie Hearn, the head of Matchroom Boxing, has found humor in Oscar De La Hoya’s immediate reaction to the prospect of a future fight between Edgar Berlanga and Jaime Munguia. The idea gained traction after Munguia's victory in a slugfest against Sergiy Derevyanchenko, two weeks prior to Berlanga’s Matchroom Boxing debut on the DAZN streaming platform. Berlanga won a twelve-round bout against Ireland’s Jason Quigley in New York City, adding fuel to the fire of the anticipated showdown.
Hearn is enthusiastic about a potential Berlanga-Munguia clash, deeming it beneficial for the sport. However, De La Hoya swiftly dismissed the idea on Twitter, seemingly in defiance of Hearn, who didn’t mince words when expressing his thoughts on De La Hoya’s post. “Oscar De La Hoya works for DAZN. He’s a complete idiot,” Hearn told BoxingScene.com and other reporters at a post-fight press conference. He criticized De La Hoya’s record in organizing fights on DAZN, particularly his handling of Munguia’s career, which he branded as one of the worst managed in boxing history.
Berlanga, a popular Brooklyn-based boxer with a Puerto Rican heritage, joined Matchroom earlier this spring and shares a manager, Keith Connolly, with Derevyanchenko. Munguia is co-promoted by Zanfer Boxing and De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. A Berlanga-Munguia bout could be a hotbed of captivating narratives, made even more enticing following Munguia’s victory over Derevyanchenko.
Despite De La Hoya’s dismissal of the potential match, Hearn sees a pathway to the fight and mentioned other options for Berlanga, such as John Ryder, Gennadiy Golovkin, and Billy Joe Saunders. In response to De La Hoya's comments, Hearn stated, “What I’ll do with Oscar De La Hoya is, I’ll speak to his bosses and I’ll come back to him.” He clarified that he wouldn't necessarily deal with De La Hoya directly, preferring to continue discussions with Eric Gomez, the president of Golden Boy, as has been the usual practice.
Image Credit: Sky Sports