Garcia has been guided throughout his career by Oscar De La Hoya , but their relationship has had several documented problems, and it is currently unclear where it stands now. 

De La Hoya is one of boxing’s greatest ever fighters and his career is full of accomplishments that Garcia will be hopeful he can one day emulate. 

Both De La Hoya and Garcia enjoy huge popularity, but if this version of Garcia was to meet De La Hoya at his best, who would come out on top? 

Here, DAZN News looks at a fantasy De La Hoya vs. Garcia fight. 

Oscar De La Hoya 

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

After boxing fans had long been accustomed Mike Tyson’s snarl, the smile of Oscar De La Hoya would go some way to replacing the New Yorker as the face of boxing for some periods during the thriving 1990s American boxing scene. 

An Olympic gold medallist, De La Hoya turned professional at the end of 1992, and he was world champion less than two years later after beating Jimmi Bredahl for the WBO super-featherweight crown. 

This sparked an incredible run that saw De La Hoya box and fight his way through several high-profile contests as he became world champion is six different weight classes all the way up to middleweight in 2004 when he edged past Felix Sturm. 

Despite his vast successes, there were several high-profile setbacks for De La Hoya as he lost major fights to Felix Trinidad, Floyd Mayweather, and Manny Pacquiao. 

De La Hoya would walk away from the sport as an active fighter after his 2008 defeat to Pacquaio, but he remains a pivotal part of the sport in his role as the head of Golden Boy Promotions.  

Ryan Garcia 

(Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom)

Turning professional at the age of 17 in Mexico, Garcia’s handsome looks and ferocious hand speed made him a serious prospect both in and out the ring, and his social media presence would aid his popularity as his career went on. 

Largely built in Mexico and on America’s west coast, Garcia’s fast rise to title contention was handled impressively and it was expected by those guiding his career, most notably, De La Hoya, his promoter, that Garcia was on his way to superstardom. 

Stoppages over top contenders like Javier Fortuna and Luke Campbell aided Garcia’s incredible popularity, but his momentum was halted dramatically in 2023 when he was stopped by Gervonta Davis in one of the year’s biggest fights. 

In 2024, Garcia renewed an amateur rivalry with Devin Haney when he dropped his great foe three times before winning on the scorecards, but his joy was short-lived as the result was changed to a no contest after Garcia failed a drugs test. 

Another loss, this time to Rolly Romero , had many questioning Garcia’s credentials at the highest level, but he can remove those doubts when he faces Mario Barrios this weekend when he can finally become world champion. 

De La Hoya vs Garcia – Who wins? 

Aiming to make a fast start, Garcia has no problem letting his quick hands go in the fight’s opening stages, but numerous stiff jabs from De La Hoya, his greatest asset, quickly find the target and demonstrate to Garcia that his opponent has no issue landing when he needs to. 

Always tough, De La Hoya, who shared the ring with some of his era’s biggest punchers such as Felix Trinidad and Ike Quartey, is happy to stand with Garcia who is using his speed to decent effect so far, but working much harder than De La Hoya who is happy to concede the opening rounds as long as his work will have an impact later on in the fight. 

By the halfway point of the fight, Garcia is still ahead, but his industry has dramatically slowed down, and De La Hoya is able to land big shots and boss the majority of their exchanges.

This switch in momentum is acknowledged by both fighters, and with Garcia knowing time is running for out for him, his tactics become reckless as he swings wildly looking for one big shot. 

That moment does not come and with the championship rounds approaching, De La Hoya knows his patient approach has worked.

In the opening exchange of round nine, De La Hoya lands first with a big left hook and Garcia goes down. He rises at eight, but De La Hoya, a relentless finisher, keeps punching before the referee jumps in to hand De La Hoya the win via ninth round stoppage.

Watch Barrios vs. Garcia only on DAZN PPV

The  WBC welterweight world title is on the line this Saturday - Feb 21 - as Mario Barrios and Ryan Garcia go toe-to-toe, exclusively on DAZN. Buy the PPV as a one-off cost or get included with DAZN Ultimate Tier. 

For more information, pricing and to buy, click here.