Oscar De La Hoya Blasts Xander Zayas For Making Boxing "Stale"

It might have only been one month, but Oscar De La Hoya is already sick of Xander Zayas' title reign.

Specifically, De La Hoya is sick of Zayas' alleged refusal to face WBO super welterweight interim champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. While out golfing on Sunday morning, the Golden Boy Promotions CEO claimed the thought "frustrated" him in an Instagram video.

"Boxing right now is just stale," De La Hoya said. "Especially here in America. Fighters don't want to fight each other. Perfect example is Xander Zayas. We have a perfect fight for you [with Vergil Ortiz Jr.] on a silver platter. Pay-per-view, let's do it in Las Vegas [at] MGM, and you keep saying you want to go to Puerto Rico? How? Your promoter has no TV whatsoever. Where you gonna fight, f****** OnlyFans?"

Zayas, 22-0, just claimed the WBO super welterweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Jorge Garcia Perez on July 26. The fight headlined the final Top Rank Boxing card on ESPN before the company's broadcast deal with the network expired.

Ortiz, 23-0, won the WBC interim 154-pound title with a majority decision nod over Serhii Bohachuk in August 2024 before defending it against former champion Israil Madrimov in February. Ortiz, who has yet to claim a world title, has since claimed that he has struggled to find his next opponent.

Oscar De La Hoya criticizes current boxing era

While a fight with WBC champion Sebastian Fundora makes more sense for Ortiz, De La Hoya seems to be getting desperate. As he admitted to his struggles in booking his clients, the fighter-turned-promoter blamed the current landscape on the "current era" of boxing.

"I mean this era right here, I cannot wait for this era to finish," De La Hoya said. "Only the fighters who don't want to fight and are literally p******, man. They want to do it for extra millions and this and that. No, let's be real here."

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Zayas was the only fighter De La Hoya targeted on Sunday, but many others have been included in his previous rants. The 52-year-old has made similar comments about Canelo Alvarez, Shakur Stevenson, Devin Haney and Jake Paul, among several others.

De La Hoya's criticism of athletes tends to focus on either their fighting style or the management of their careers. His tension is particularly evident with Alvarez, who was with Golden Boy Promotions from 2010 to 2020. The two have since criticized each other for the way they conduct business nearly every chance they get.

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