During this interview with Fight Hub TV, Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya explains why he thinks Ryan Garcia made a good choice in hiring Derrick James as his new lead trainer and why he proposed he look towards a fight against Manny Pacquiao. Garcia has openly said he doesn’t have interest in a Pacquiao fight, but De La Hoya still thinks it could be the biggest fight out there for both men. Check out some of what he had to say below.
De La Hoya on Garcia’s recent change in trainer
“I haven’t talked to him at all about the trainer but he made the right choice. I think [James] is an excellent trainer. I think that a trainer’s there to discipline you, a trainer’s there to keep you in line, to teach you, to give you that game plan, to better your skills, and I believe he picked the right trainer.”
On whether or not the trainer or the fighter makes the difference in their performance
“From a fighter who’s had — I think I’ve had seven trainers in my whole career, and I had the best of the best. I’ve had trainers who listen to me, I’ve had trainers that I have to listen to, I’ve had disciplinary trainers, I’ve had trainers who are just at ease. My best trainer that I’ve ever had was Floyd Mayweather Sr because he would literally wake me up at 5am in the morning to go run when I didn’t want to wake up. He would throw buckets of water at me to wake me up when I was lazy.
“So a trainer makes the fighter. A trainer gives you the discipline, gives you the instructions, teaches you the game plan and it’s repetition. So if you have a fighter who’s not listening or respecting the trainer, then you’re not learning, you’re not growing as a fighter. You need a trainer who’s gonna be on your ass. And that’s the bottom line.
“And my best two trainers, I have to say I forgot The Professor who trained me for the Chavez fight, he was on my ass. And when I didn’t want to wake up, when I didn’t want to spar, when I didn’t want to train, he would be on my ass and that’s exactly how I won this fight.”
On why he mentioned Pacquiao as being a good opponent for Garcia
“The reason why we can now talk about it and it’s a viable option is that Manny Pacquiao was just victorious in a suit he was involved in, which obviously didn’t allow him to fight in the states. So now that he’s free to do so, it’s a very real option for both guys because imagine a Ryan Garcia vs Manny Pacquiao fight, at a catchweight depending on what that weight is, can be the biggest fight for both guys.”