Oscar De La Hoya Calls-Out Shakur Stevenson to Fight Ryan Garcia in Bold Claim

Oscar De La Hoya, like many others, had some pointed things to say about the Shakur Stevenson bout. The latter recently became the WBC lightweight champion. He defeated the Dominican Edwin De La Santos in what many touted as a full-dragged-out affair. Many criticized the match for being too boring. Stevenson received widespread chiding for his tricky and shifty fighting style. Now, early today, Oscar De la Hoya came out with an unusual tweet.

In what looked like a cautious call-out, De La Hoya could foresee how the fight’s business would wind up. However, he believes Ryan Garcia will be the center of the fight. Despite the loss, he still remains massively popular across the spectrum. So is he hinting at a Stevenson-Garcia fight? ‘The Golden Boy”s Ryan Garcia will fight Oscar Duarte Jurado next weekend. The young Californian is seeking redemption after the humiliating loss to Gervonta Davis this April. He appears to be the clear favorite to win the December 2 bout.

Oscar De La Hoya: Teasing a possibility?

The former world champion and boxing great asked his followers on X. Ryan Garcia versus Shakur Stevenson how many pay-per-view buys one could expect. Whatever that number is, in his view, the vast majority of the subscriptions will happen because of ‘KingRy’ only. He said, “@RyanGarcia vs. Shakur, how many PPVs, and trust me, it’ll all be Ryan who is selling the majority.“

The poser, as could be expected, drew an unusual array of comments. Some found the match-up itself exciting. For a few, even with Ryan Garcia, it wasn’t a pay-per-view worth any purchase. Then there were some who questioned the line-up: Garcia is at 140 pounds, while Stevenson recently joined at 135 pounds. That’s a valid point worth considering.

Pairing up boxers: a tricky business

Ryan Garcia fought Javier Fortuna at 140 pounds last year. Later, he switched back to 136 pounds of catchweight to fight Gervonta Davis. Though it proved an utter fiasco, the young Californian boxer subsequently made up his mind to stick to light welterweight only. So much so, he reportedly wouldn’t entertain a rematch with Davis below the current weight class. On the other hand, Shakur Stevenson had to make a conscious decision about moving to the lightweight division.

Last year, in August, he defeated Oscar Valdez to become the unified super featherweight champion. But a month later, he missed weight during the weigh-in for the title defense against Robson Conceicao. He won the bout. But he had to part with his belts at the same time. Stevenson then made the announcement during the post-fight interview that he could no longer stick with the weight limits of the super featherweight division. Hence, he would be moving up to the lightweight division.

Thus, if at all Oscar De La Hoya is keen to bring in two of the foremost names in boxing, then fans will surely be watching out for how he is able to convince Garcia first. What if ‘KingRy’ isn’t willing to budge from his 140-pound stand? So would Shakur Stevenson agree to scale up another division? The odds of becoming a champion in a fourth division could lure him. But whether he would agree to such an arrangement so soon, time alone will tell.

Read More: Not Trying to Take Credit Away, Shakur Stevenson Remains Brutally Honest About Ryan Garcia’s Performance in Gervonta Davis Loss

What’s your take on De La Hoya’s tweet? Do you also believe it will be years before Stevenson can sell good PPV numbers on his own? Please share your views with us in the comments below.

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