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Oscar De La Hoya plans to set up shop in the city that was once his sport’s biggest draw.
The Hall of Famer, a former six-division champion and current chairman of Golden Boy Promotions, plans to invest heavily in his brand at local shows in Las Vegas. It was no coincidence that his team opened 2024 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas with the DAZN headliner Virgil Ortiz vs. Fredrick Lawson.
The hope from there is to do something that brings Golden Boy-branded programming to the city on a regular basis.
“Holly and I built this place to bring boxing back,” De La Hoya told BoxingScene.com and other reporters while hosting a media dinner in his $14 million mansion overlooking the Las Vegas Strip. Told. “We want to bring all the big shows that Golden Boy does to Las Vegas.”
De La Hoya confirmed there are plans to build a 2,500- to 3,000-seat Apex to host Golden Boy’s more intimate shows. Construction is underway and it is estimated that it will be at least several months before the site becomes Golden Boy’s official headquarters.
More than half of De La Hoya’s 45 career fights have taken place in Las Vegas, including 23 headliners and 22 world title fights (18-4). All but two of his pay-per-view headliners have been held in the long-declared fighting capital of the world, and those 19 events have grossed well over 13 million units. It was often recorded and performed in front of a packed audience.
Many of Golden Boy’s events, especially since the pandemic, have been held in California or Texas, where Golden Boy is based. They partnered with Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) last spring to host Gervonta and his Davis vs. Ryan Garcia Showtime PPV event from his T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The night was the highest-grossing boxing event of 2023 with over $120 million in live gate and PPV revenue.
Golden Boy’s first two major shows of 2024 will be held outside of California. Saturday’s card will take place in Las Vegas, while the January 27 headline show of Jamie Munguia vs. John Ryder will take place at Footprint Center, home of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns.
There are still plans to do a show in California, the epicenter of Golden Boy’s fan base, but De La Hoya’s desire to bring some of the magic surrounding his own career to Fight Town, where he could use regular action be.
“When we started looking at Las Vegas, we said let’s do something serious and impactful,” De La Hoya insisted. “Rather than bring boxing back, we help boxing grow and maintain its momentum. No, we also have Fight of the Year and runner-up. We have Ryan Garcia and Tank. -I just collaborated with Davis on a big pay-per-view.
The possibilities are endless this year. [Hall of Fame former two-division champ and Golden Boy partner Bernard] Hopkins fought here many times. Here he fought many times. We have to get back to fighting our best. ”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer at BoxingScene.com. X (old Twitter): @JakeNDaBox
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