Oscar De La Hoya picked up part of the Civil War boxing match between Eddie Hearn and Dana White.
“I’m on Team Eddie now because Dana cooks,” De La Hoya said on Monday’s “Ariel Helwani Show.”
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Hearn and White’s continued public exchanges over the UFC CEO’s involvement in the December 11 fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua have set the stage for plenty of shows in the boxing world.
De La Hoya said he hopes to send his clash with White and TKO Zuffa Boxing in the near future, with what he describes as “the show-stopper of the century”, but for now he is happy to let Hearn take charge.
“It’s the funniest thing I’ve seen,” De La Hoya said. “These guys just don’t stop. You know Eddie, Eddie’s just funny. He’s innocent. That’s why Eddie and I are doing so well now. We had our differences, and he knows exactly what he’s doing for his fighters, and he’s a supporter.
“I’m just sitting back here gathering all my information, having a great time listening to these guys arguing back and forth.”
The Whites’ estimation of La Hoya was somewhat less liberal.
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During the year, White repeated the line that boxing fans should judge Zuffa Boxing at the end of 2026, based on his complete “body of work”. We’re already in October, so it’s safe to say that De La Hoya has already reached his end.
“Let’s just say if I were a teacher; [they’d] “It’s getting to be an F,” De La Hoya said in his interview with Zuffa Boxing.
“What did he do? All fighters are ripped. They don’t know how to build fighters. They don’t know how to build fighters from scratch. It’s crazy. It’s ridiculous. This boxing game, you have to invest in yourself emotionally, and you have to put in your time and get to know the fighters and make them personal.
“Dana doesn’t know about the fighters. He doesn’t want to know them. It’s all about the number. Look at TKO and the UFC – it’s all about the number and their partners. Boxing is more personal. You have to know the fighters. You have to do something right in life and make sure you treat it well and do it.
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“You don’t send a message to fire a fighter. I don’t like that. It’s not about acting, it’s not about boxing.”
De La Hoya Zuffa announced former WBC light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk via email in April.
Oleksandr Gvozdyk fights Radivoje Kalajdzic in the heavyweight preliminaries of the Zuffa Boxing 2 event at Meta APEX on February 1, 2026 in Las Vegas.
(Ed Mulholland/Zuffa Boxing via Getty Images)
Gvozdyk once battled with the promotion company, dominating Radivoje Kalajdzic for six rounds and scoring two knockouts in the process, but eventually succumbed to a dramatic loss in a seventh-round stoppage.
Although Gvozdyk understood Zuffa’s decision, the skin-tight nature of his release did not go down well with some boxing fans. Some questioned the move after Brutus jokingly said during his entrance that he intends to get the boxers to stop their zephyrs and take the best fights – however, when the former champion lost in a dominating bout, he was not given a second chance.
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However, if De La Hoya was already displeased with Albo and the TKO, the reason was certainly given after the elimination by Ryan Garcia in September vs. Conor Benn would fight.
Garcia is De La Hoya’s biggest star client, but the show — a Ring of the Ring event co-promoted by Zuffa Boxing and De La Hoya’s Golden Boy — is firmly focused on TKO and the Zuffa product, with De La Hoya missing from the entire promotion and fight night.
“I didn’t have my tickets ring,” De La Hoya explained about his absence. “…they gave me tickets, but not where I was supposed to sit.”
“Things happened very well for Ryan Garcia,” De La Hoya continued. “He has a big knockout, it’s going to be really fun, but what kept me from it – oooh.
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De La Hoya said that he will discuss his exclusion from the event in a future edition of his social media “Applause Days”. But that white man, not the man behind him.
“Dana doesn’t have anything to say,” De La Hoya said. “He doesn’t have any cartoons here. Let’s just say that I can’t talk until the smoke clears. There’s something legal that we have to do and all that. I have a reason to “clap, and tell you the truth. And once it’s off my face, I can’t wait.”
Although Garcia was disappointed that De La Hoya was not in the fight, he said that the pair have spoken to De La Hoya, and that all is well between them.
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Garcia has one fight left in his deal with Golden Boy — though sources close to the situation have reported that Garcia has an additional fight left in his contract with DAZN.
De La Hoya has helped make Garcia one of the boxing’s biggest stars and hopes to continue with him after his current contract expires. But Garcia said in the past that he did not want to re-sign.
Whether Garcia remains with the golden boy or not, De La Hoya doubts the WBC welterweight champion will align with Alba.
“I don’t think he will go with Zuffa,” De La Hoya said. “I don’t think it suits him well.”
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The Golden Boy founder said he will meet with Garcia next to discuss Garcia’s next fight — although De La Hoya already knows who he would like to see Garcia fight next.
“The guide I wanted in the first place was Devin Haney,” De La Hoya revealed. “Devin Haney and Teofimo [Lopez] There is a big fight for Ryan, and Ryan is at an elite level now. This is a guy who has to fight the top guys and the best.
“What I like about Ryan is that he has something very competitive in him where he wants to fight the best and he wants to show the world that he is the best. A Teofimo or Devin Haney is the perfect choice for him.”
De La Hoya has clear ideas of what’s next for Garcia. The less certain question is whether Garcia will remain the man promoted beyond that.