Oscar De La Hoya gives his honest verdict on the state of boxing

The current state of boxing is a hot topic at the moment, with many praising the job Turki Alalshikh and others are doing to make the biggest fights happen. However, many also argue that we aren’t seeing enough of the best fighting the best. Golden Boy Chairman and CEO Oscar De La Hoya recently spoke to Ariel Helwani, where he gave his honest verdict on the state of boxing and offered one critique of current fighters.

Oscar De La Hoya delivers honest verdict on current state of boxing

Speaking to Helwani, Oscar De La Hoya gave his honest verdict on the current state of boxing:

“Boxing is in the worst place it’s ever been. All these top guys are waiting for that ultimate purse.

“Guys, you have to fight. You have to prove yourself. You have to become world champion and continue your career. You can’t just be idle and wait for the big money to come. What if it never comes?

“We’ve seen a few fights, a handful of them, which is great for boxing, but boxing is a business that you have to maintain year-long,” said De La Hoya.

The Big Fight Weekend verdict

I find it difficult to disagree with Oscar De La Hoya on his assessment of boxing. There is no doubt we have seen some great matchups in recent years, such as Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol and Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury. 

For how memorable those fights were, many continue to slip through the net, such as David Benavidez vs Jai Opetaia and Devin Haney vs Shakur Stevenson. When a fight is not made, the promoters and the fighters should be criticised. There needs to be a desire from both teams to make a fight, and it does feel at the moment that if there’s not a ransom available, one or both will not be interested in making the bout.

Turki Alalshikh has made some memorable bouts, with Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua set for December 11. However, the money made available to fighters by Alalshikh has, in many ways, made it harder to make the biggest fights, because many have an inflated expectation of what purses they are entitled to.

I wouldn’t call it a disastrous time, but the sport clearly does need somewhat of a reset. Fighters should be rewarded for putting their lives on the line to entertain us, but the sport’s popularity would increase ten-fold if the best fought the best, with more regularity.

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Featured Image Credit:

Golden Boy Promotions