Ryan Garcia is upset with Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya for him denying that there were any talks about a fight between him and Manny Pacquiao.
When asked about the Ryan vs. Pacquiao fight status over the weekend, De La Hoya denied there were any talks, saying that it was just “Instagram” stories.
Ryan interpreted De La Hoya’s comment to be a shot at him, making it feel that he was just making up stuff out of thin air about a fight with Pacquiao and posting the information on his Instagram to get publicity.
Ryan has a message to De La Hoya: “Don’t be lying on me.”
The young unbeaten 22-year-old Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) is unhappy that De La Hoya made that comment, and he says Golden Boy works for him, and they need to do what he says.
Ryan Garcia denies clout-chasing
“Here’s the thing. I’m going to clear up the air once and for all,” said Ryan Garcia to Fighthype. “I’m tired of people saying I’m doing these things for clout reasons.
“First of all, I don’t even need that. I don’t need anybody to boost myself up. I do it because of the fans, they want to see things, and it gets people excited.
“I really wanted to fight Tank. After the fight [with Luke Campbell], I gave the fans the chance to pick between Haney and Tank, and they said, ‘Tank.’
“So I go, and I started to promote the Tank fight because that’s a fight that I want. So in other to get a fight going, you promote it, right?
“So I planted the seed early, ‘Let’s get this going.’ Tank agreed to it. We didn’t agree to it on paper, but verbally. People got to stop saying that I went to Pacquiao.
“I had no clue about Pacquiao. I didn’t even know Pacquiao was looking to fight anybody. I had no clue what Pacquiao was doing.
“I said about Pacquiao during my promotion on DAZN of my fight against Campbell that would be my dream fight, and that’s what I see after I fight Tank. So it’s not like I was calling him out.
“So they call me, this is the truth. They call me and say, ‘Hey, this is a possibility,'” said Ryan.
It’s unknown what happened with Pacquiao and his team for the fight to not happen, but we hear what actually took place.
Tank or Pacquiao is all Ryan wants
“Unless somebody is lying to me, that’s what it is,” Ryan continued. “Then it started moving, and then they started saying, ‘There’s more hope to it.’
“So when I released that poster [on Instagram of Pacquiao], they were all excited about it. Oscar was talking to me, ‘I can make this fight happen, blah, blah, blah.’
“I’m like, ‘Cool.’ He even came to me, so I don’t understand. I posted it. Obviously, some people said I shouldn’t have posted it. Others say I should have.
“To me, it showed how big that fight is and still is. Over two million likes, it reached a bunch of people, and that’s just the facts, that’s just the numbers.
“I could lie, everybody could lie, but the numbers don’t lie. That’s just what it is. My photo [on Instagram of Pacquiao], it went crazy; it went nuts, even more than the Tank poster.
“So these are just numbers. You can think about other variables about the fight, but those are just what the numbers showed.
“So okay, that fight is big too. I continued pushing for the fight, and I don’t care what the order is now. Tank, Pacquiao or Pacquiao, Tank.
“I don’t care what the order is; those are the two fights that I want. Of course, people say a lot of things. Honestly, I don’t know what the truth is anymore.
“I’ve seen Pacquiao talking to him. Everybody was with it; everybody was behind it. There were some complications; I don’t need to get into it,” said Garcia.
Ryan needs to consider other options for his next fight because he can’t set inactive waiting on Pacquiao or Tank Davis if those matches aren’t in the cards right now.
Ryan not interested in easy fights
“I just had a meeting with Oscar [De La Hoya],” Ryan Garcia said. ‘If we can still make the Pacquiao still happen, cool.’
“If not, I only wanted to fight Tank or Pacquiao. I wanted to fight Tank first. I didn’t even know about Pacquiao.
“Stop coming at me about Pacquiao when it came to me. I didn’t initiate anything.
“They came to me. It’s all love; I don’t care. Whether someone was playing me or somebody was lying, I don’t care. It really don’t mean anything to me.
“What I’m saying is, I’m trying to move forward. If I can make the fight happen with Pacquiao or not, cool. Say no or say yes. That’s what I said in the meeting.
“Say no or say yes. If it can happen, let’s go for it. If it can’t happen, let’s not go for it. Let’s go for Tank. I said, ‘Tank or Pacquiao.’
“I don’t care about no other names because I feel like it would be going backwards. I just want to keep this momentum going.
“People want me to fight certain fighters. They mentioned names. I don’t want that; I don’t need that.
“I don’t feel like it’s beneficial. ‘Oh, you should get a couple of more fights, build your name. I’m not here; I don’t need this type of business.
“I’m trying to get the big fights. I’m blessed to make money outside of boxing. I don’t need to fight people just to win, do you know what I mean? ‘Oh, you can beat him, Ryan. It’s easy.’
“I’m not looking or that; I’m looking for challenges. You can hate me all you want and say it’s not smart. I don’t care.
“I tell them straight up, ‘I don’t care what anybody says. I’m only fighting Pacquiao or Tank, whatever you want to say first,'” said Garcia.
Devin Haney will be an excellent option for Ryan if he’s looking for a tough fight. Bill Haney says that he wants to put together a fight with Ryan, and that’s the #1 choice for him.
Ryan is the WBC mandatory to Haney, and he can get that fight without the hassle of dealing with a non-DAZN fighter.
Ryan scolds De La Hoya: Don’t lie on me
“I got respect for both of them, though. I got respect for Tank and Pacquiao,” Ryan said.
“I think Tank is a great talent. Why do you think I’m challenging him? Because I think it’s a challenge, I know it’s a challenge.
“I’m not shying away from the fact that he is a challenge. I’m not shying away from the fact that Pacquiao is a legend and still knock me out; both of them can knock me out, and I can knock them out. That’s just the facts.
“I heard Oscar, and it got me a little upset; he said this, ‘it was all for Instagram.’ Are you serious?
“The reason I’m saying, ‘Are you serious’ right now because you’re trying to make it seem like I was searching for clout.
“I could care less about that. I’m here about business; I’m here about making a big fight happen; I’m here to use what I have, which is a social media platform, to build a fight for clout.
“Don’t get mad at me; I’m not here for clout. I was doing just fine, don’t try and make a lie on me. That’s what I don’t accept, don’t like on me.
“That’s unprofessional, #1. #2, we’re supposed to be on the same team with the same vision.
“We just got out of a meeting saying we’re going to shoot for the Pacquiao fight, and if not, it’s all good, let’s go for Tank.
“We had that in mind. So don’t make a lie like that because I don’t play with lies. If you lie, you got to be told, ‘Don’t lie,’ because that’s unprofessional.
“We’re supposed to be on the same team with the same vision, but it’s all love still, though. I don’t care,
“I’m not mad at Oscar, but don’t be lying on me. Don’t be saying that I only did it for Instagram. I could make a boxing video and make it blow up if I wanted to do that.
“I don’t need to do that. I have other outlets. In that, I just wanted to clear the air. I’m here to fight Tank or Pacquiao, that’s it, point-blank, period.
“If not, it’ll be on them because I’m saying I’m going for it. That’s what I want. You’re going to have to ask them about it. I mean, I can’t have all the answers.
“They have a team as well. They got their own vision. Whether they want that fight now, it’s up to them.
“I’m saying I want that fight now. You’re hearing me say, ‘yes, let’s go, Tank. Let’s go, Pacquiao.’ If not, it’s on them; that’s just what it is,” said Ryan.
If negotiations were going on between Golden Boy and Pacquiao for a Ryan fight, it’s unclear why De La Hoya told the media that it was just “Instagram” talk. That made it look like Ryan was just blabbering on Instagram for nothing.
Ryan complaining about communication problems
“There was a venue, there was this, there was that,” Ryan Garcia said about the Pacquiao fight. “I don’t want to go too much into it.
“I was seeing things; I’m not here to lie about anything. This is what I seen in front of me. They had deals in front of me. I guess they fell through.
“I honestly don’t know what happened. Obviously, it didn’t happen. I’m just here to keep moving forward. I don’t really care if it happens or not, honestly.
“I care about getting a good fight going on with Tank or Pacquiao. If the Pacquiao fight can’t happen, tell me it can’t happen.
“Just say, ‘Hey, we tried all we can, but for some reason whatever.’ There has to be a reason. I still want to fight Tank. I said, ‘Two rounds, ‘ and I still think in two rounds, I knock him out.
“I honestly, truly know in my heart that I would knock him out in two rounds.
“Actually, it’s a fact at this point that I’m going to knock him out. My heart was also in the legendary Pacquiao. I’m young, I’m 22, of course, I would want to fight someone I’ve seen.
“I’m like, ‘He’s an inspiration to me, just the journey of eight weight classes.’ It’s just legendary stuff, and I would love to share the ring with him to see why is it that way.
“What makes him special, you know what I mean? I wanted to shop for it. If it doesn’t happen, it’s all good,” said Garcia.
From what Ryan Garcia is saying, it sounds like he’s having communication problems with Golden Boy.
If he doesn’t know what’s going on with them when it comes to the Pacquiao fight, he should be talking to them.
Garcia wants to be on the same page as GBP
“I would never want to not be on the same page with my team, obviously,” Ryan said about on the subject of whether he’s on the same page with Golden Boy and De La Hoya.
“I want to have the same vision, the same goals. The promoters work for the boxers.
“They got the money; we don’t. So excuse me when I say, ‘You got to do what I say.’ It’s true. You made the money already. What are you bull s*** me for?
“I’m saying I want to fight these guys; let’s make it happen. If we can’t make it happen, alright, we’ll move forward. But don’t be playing with me.
“You got the money; you made the money, you’re the ‘Golden Boy. You got the bills; you got what you got. What about the young gun? Don’t be hating.
“Don’t be playing like you’re on my side, but you’re not on my side. I don’t play like that. I’m like, ‘What’s the truth here? This is what I want; this is my vision. Let’ shoot for it. If it can’t happen, let’s go here.’
“They work for me; it’s the truth. They signed me to box for them. Therefore, we’re on the same [team]. We’re partners; it’s a partnership with Ryan Garcia and Golden Boy.
“It’s no other way. You don’t control me; I don’t control you. It’s all love. So that’s what I got to make clear. 1o00 percent, it’ll be a letdown,” Ryan Garcia said when asked will be disappointed if he doesn’t get the Pacquiao or Tank fight next.
“I’ll just keep moving forward because I know in my heart that I did all I could do to make the fight happen.
“For whatever reason, if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. I’m doing good, I got a lot of things in place, but I do everything for boxing.
“My whole social media, I became big because of boxing videos. All I do is because of the love of the sport. People don’t understand my social media; it’s all for boxing.
“I’m trying to bring it up to where it was. The times are changing, and I’m one of the people in place to make a change and help boxing.
“So don’t be mad at me for putting it all out there,” said Ryan Garcia.
What Ryan is saying sounds like he’s mistrustful of the motives behind his promoter when it comes to his fights. Are they trying to protect Ryan from Pacquiao or Tank, or is there a misunderstanding?