De La Hoya : 'No Need To Get Into Politics,' He, Holly Sonders Promote First Of Its Kind Ryan Garcia Fight

On Friday night, for the first time ever, a marquee boxing bout will take place in the center of New York's Times Square when mainstream sensation Ryan Garcia faces Rolando "Rolly" Romero.

Ahead of the event, OutKick spoke to legendary prizefighter Oscar De La Hoya, who serves as Garcia's promoter, and his girlfriend Holly Sonders, a personal favorite of the esteemed OutKick Culture Department.

Speaking of our readers, De La Hoya encouraged them to come for the fight but stay for Sonders' wardrobe. 

"Before I answer your question, I just want to say, Holly's dress. Just wow. It's skin-tight. I mean, skin-tight. I have the sexiest woman in the world. You gotta check this out. It blew me away."

DAZN can thank us – well, Holly – for the surge in early pay-per-view buys.

As for the fight, Sonders called the event and its untie setting a "game changer." Adding, "It's one of a kind. It's never happened before [in Times Square]. I will probably never happen again. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for boxing."

"Also, there's going to be 100 to 200 tickets for just VIPs and celebrities who are going to be sitting ringside, and just the whole glamor of it," Sonders continued. "I love it, just the old-school glamor of boxing, and I'm excited to kind of bring that back too. All the screens are going to be lit up just like when the ball drops for New Year's Eve."

De La Hoya agreed and said the hype, combined with a win, could turn Garcia into a "megastar."

"He's on the verge," La Hoya declared. "We have a forum rule here at Golden Boy. We know how to build champions, but we also know how to build stars like Canelo and Floyd Mayweather, who we promoted for 16 of his fights."

"If Ryan Garcia wins, when he wins, he will catapult to superstardom in boxing."

The fight will be presented by Ring Magazine and its new owner, His Excellency Turki Al-Sheikh, a Saudi Arabian adviser at the Royal Court and Chairman of the Saudi-run General Entertainment Authority. Al-Sheikh has emerged as the most powerful figure in boxing in recent years, perhaps the first true disruptor in this half-century.

The old guard of promoters and journalists have deemed Al-Sheikh's influence "bad for boxing." De La Hoya – and the fans – disagree.

"Over the years, boxing has just held steady," De La Hoya told OutKick. "We didn't have many stars. We didn't create these big, mega fights. Turki came in and changed that. He changed the whole perspective on what boxing means. He's making the big fights happen with us in cool places, like Times Square. We are also talking about going to Alcatraz and doing an event there in the island. Turki is spending his money and making the big fights happen."

For reference, the biggest fight in boxing is a matchup between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford. That fight is expected to take place this September. That doesn't happen without Al-Sheikh – just look how long it took to finalize plans between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. 

But while boxing looks to follow the UFC's lead in matchmaking and growth, De La Hoya doesn't see his promotion putting the president or anyone else in the political realm ringside at a future Golden Boy event.

"I've stayed away from politics," he said, in contrast to Dana White. "I've learned to stay away. Boxing is a poor man's sport. It's also put on for kings and questions around her world. There's no need to get into politics. Again, I've learned that. "

According to FanDuel SportsBook, Garcia is a -1200 favorite over Romero. De La Hoya predicts a Garcia win, via a "devastating knockout."

"Fans should look for that. But, remember, Garcia has been off for a whole year. He's getting booed everywhere he goes. Everyone in New York remembers when it happened last year [Garcia's victory over Devin Haney was changed to a " no contest" after he tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug]. He's embracing that. He's embracing the villain role."

In a final message to OutKick readers, Sonders thanked all our readers for their support and for helping "put her on the map" early in her career. 

"You, Clay [Travis], and Joe [Kinsey] are the best. The OutKick readers have been so good to me," she expressed. 

Oscar interjected, saying that while he appreciates us, he was still "thinking about Holly's dress."

[All photos via Holly Sonders.]