Promoters' Scores To Settle

De La Hoya to Face Eddie Hearn

Jan. 25, 2024; Phoenix, Ariz; USA; Oscar De La Hoya speaks about boxer Jamie Munguia V Ryder main event during a press conference for Golden Boy boxing event. / Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

By Daniel Mukrnya

Promoter Oscar De La Hoya will be willing to fight Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn in a six vs six card that would feature fighters from both companies.

De La Hoya says he already has in mind the combination he will use to knock out Hearn but will not reveal it as he wants it to be an impressive fight.

De La Hoya is former six-division world champion and 1992 Olympic medallist. He wants to prolong the fight so that he can have some fun. He claims he wants to punish Hearn and at the end of the fight he will be forced to retire. It is not a fair fight because De La Hoya’s pedigree is too far advanced for Hearn, a promoter born into wealth like would not last even one round.

The two have been firing verbal shots at each other for some time with De La Hoya being quite critical of Hearn’s promotional skills. He has been telling Hearn to stay in the United Kingdom talking down on his promotional abilities in the US. He has gone further as to mock Hearn’s fighters for losing. Recently Dmitry Bivol lost to Artur Beterbiev.

Although he has had a slow start in the United States, Heran has been able to sign a significant amount of American talent. He has the IBF Welterweight Champion Jaron Ennis, Shakur Stevenson who is the WBC Lightweight Champion and was also able to work with a big fighter like Canelo Alvarez.

The two promoters share a broadcasting partner DAZN, but De La Hoya has not been happy with Hearn’s tactics. He recently teased the idea of a 5 v 5 card between their companies and would like for their match to make it 6 v 6 and the main event. A card against De La Hoya would allow him to right those wrongs, Hearn was receptive to the idea.

The feud is seen as a wider part of Hearn’s rise in the United States. Since De La Hoya is one of the biggest promoters in the US, but after the Bivol and Beterbiev fight that Hearn was involved in gave him the spotlight that De La Hoya would have hoped for being among the leading players in the US market. It appears that Hearn is leading the way, something which looks to annoying De La Hoya and now he hopes to settle the score in the ring.