Hall of Fame fighter turned boxing executive Oscar De La Hoya has presided over his promotional company Golden Boy for more than two decades, but the journey hasn’t always been a smooth one.

Scandals, lawsuits and multiple stints in and out of rehab throughout the years have derailed De La Hoya’s life.

But over the last few years, De La Hoya says he has been revived and rejuvenated, and he has documented all of his trials and tribulations in detail, over a two-part documentary. 

De La Hoya, the 51-year-old former six-division champion, is once again front and center promoting a big bout – this time for Ryan Garcia taking on Devin Haney on April 20 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on a DAZN pay-per-view.

Once Garcia finally zeroed in on Haney as his desired next opponent and dialed down his beef with Golden Boy, the fight formed fairly quickly.

“When I'm serious, things happen,” De La Hoya told BoxingScene.com. “I'm glad I'm back, let's put it that way. All I want to do is put the best against the best. I'm really looking forward to being ringside and watching a great fight.”

De La Hoya is already grading the Garcia-Haney fight in his top 10 as a promoter.

He predicted the PPV would be a smashing success as well, surpassing the 1.2 million purchases Garcia and Gervonta “Tank” Davis enjoyed last April – the first boxing PPV event to break the one-million-buys mark since 2018. 

“Yes, it breaks the [Davis-Garcia] PPV numbers – 1.5 million would be great,” De La Hoya said. “This could be the start of a trilogy. They really hate each other and have animosity. They're talking all this s*** outside of the ring. I tell them both you have to prove it in the ring. … All of this trash talk doesn't matter. It's how you focus once you get in the ring.” 

De La Hoya said the anticipated encounter between the WBC super lightweight champion Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) and Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) will not have a rehydration or rematch clause.

“It's going to be an even fight,” De La Hoya said. “It's going to be a continuation of their competitive amateur fights. Both fighters want to get up on each other's neck. They're ready. It's exciting to know there is such interest. This is way bigger than Tank and Ryan.”

As De La Hoya waits for Garcia and Haney to make their way into the ring, he’s shifting his focus on making another mega-fight two weeks later, on Cinco De Mayo weekend – a date he dominated with blockbuster success during his heyday. 

Golden Boy is currently negotiating for Jaime Munguia (43-0, 34 KOs), the fighter it co-promotes alongside Zanfer, to challenge Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, the Mexican superstar De La Hoya helped mold.

The undisputed super middleweight champion and Golden Boy parted ways in 2020 after Alvarez sued the company and DAZN for breach of contract. 

After forming unions with Matchroom Boxing and PBC, the 33-year-old Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) is currently a promotional free agent contemplating his next career move.

“Munguia is waiting for his opportunity. Hopefully, we'll see that all-Mexican showdown soon,” De La Hoya said. “Canelo holds all of the cards. That's all I have to say. Just like you guys, I want to see Canelo vs. David Benavidez. It's great. But I also want to see Canelo vs. Munguia because it will be a helluva great action-packed fight.”

After stretches of icy relationships with rival promoters, De La Hoya has been pounding the table lately, calling for competing companies to work with one another to deliver top-shelf fights that fans want to see. 

That means he’s willing to let bygones be bygones and to repair relationships along the way.

“I have no apology [to Alvarez] because I have no idea what I did to him to end the relationship,” De La Hoya said. “As a man myself, I would say I'm in your corner one thousand percent. I love what you're doing, fighting the best. That's my mantra. He's been doing it for a long time. Whoever he chooses for Cinco De Mayo, all the power to him. If we ever have to work together, I'm respectful and respect his career. All I want to do is make the best fights happen for the people. That's what it's all about.”