OSCAR DE LA HOYA AND BERNARD HOPKINS BOTH NAME THE SAME FIGHTER AS THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins are two of the best fighters in recent memory, but both agree one man in the history books tops all others.

The legendary duo locked horns in a monumental showdown at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas back in September of 2004, a fight that saw Hopkins become the first undisputed middleweight champion of the ‘four belt era’ when he stopped De La Hoya in the ninth round to add the WBO title to his unified WBC, WBA and IBF belts.

They have since partnered up for Golden Boy Promotions and continue to develop today’s talent with a view to creating the next big star – but who do they feel is the best of all time?

Speaking to ESNEWS, De La Hoya didn’t hesitate to name the late great Sugar Ray Robinson as the greatest fighter in history.

“Sugar Ray Robinson is the greatest of all time! That’s basically it, look at this here [his shirt] all the weight divisions, hardest puncher, best footwork, he would fight multiple times a month, took on the very best, took on the toughest challenges. Sugar Ray Robinson, he’s literally the GOAT.”

Hopkins shares the same views of his former rival turned business partner, once telling the media that he also believes Robinson is the very best fighter to have ever graced the sport.

“The best fighter ever is Sugar Ray Robinson. To me the best fighter after that is Muhammad Ali, and then the debate starts from on and on from there.”

Robinson fought on just over 200 occasions as a professional throughout the course of his storied 25-year tenure, which spanned between 1940 and 1965.

He became six-time world champion along the way, reigning as the world welterweight champion between 1946 and 1951 before he eventually made the move up to middleweight, capturing the world title five times within a 9-year period before his retirement.

- Kailem Lowe

EXCLUSIVE: SAUDI WEALTH FUND TALKS TO CREATE BOXING LEAGUE

Reuters 

 Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) is in discussions with multiple boxing stakeholders to create a league, potentially reshaping the competitive landscape of the sport, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

PIF is looking to invest in a joint venture with some of the sport's stakeholders that would feature more boxing bouts, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

A handful of leading promoters including Matchroom Boxing and Golden Boy Promotions are involved in the discussions that could result in a deal valuing the new entity between $4-5 billion, one of the people said. PIF wants to create a venture that would bring the main sport's organisers together, in which it would take a minority stake, the person added.

Turki al-Sheikh, a close advisor to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who has been heavily involved in the sports sector and is chairman of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority, was overseeing the final discussions around a potential deal about a month ago, a second person added.

Reuters could not establish the details around how a league would be structured.

PIF and Matchroom Boxing declined to comment and Golden Boy Promotions did not respond to requests for comment.

Currently the sport is made up of boxing organisations including the World Boxing Council, the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, and the World Boxing Organisation, which each have their own rules for championship belts.

Saudi Arabia has poured billions of dollars into sport as it seeks to wean the kingdom off of oil dependency under de-facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed's Vision 2030 program, which aims to bring in tourism, boost the private sector, and create jobs.

Boxing is the latest sport to attract possible investment from the PIF, which is chaired by the crown prince, after deals across golf, Formula 1, and football. The fund has also been considering an investment in a new cycling league, Reuters has reported.

"Boxing has the potential to attract awareness for investors to the kingdom," said Sebastion Sons, senior researcher at consultancy CARPO.

"By investing in sport, Saudi Arabia wants to get more market access, establish new political and economic networks, wants to gain attraction as a tourist destination, and also wants to raise global awareness for the transformation Saudi Arabia is undergoing."

The PIF shook up the world of golf by funding the LIV Golf series, in a move that created a rivalry with the PGA Tour and led to a shock deal to merge the tours that was announced last year.

That deal is now at risk after talks between the PGA and LIV have stalled and as a U.S. senate panel called it an attempt by Saudi Arabia's government to "buy influence" in U.S. sports.

Critics accuse the country of using its sovereign wealth fund to engage in "sportswashing" in the face of heavy criticism of Saudi Arabia's human rights record.

“If sport washing is going to increase my GDP by way of 1%, then I will continue doing sport washing,” the crown prince told Fox News last year.

The kingdom has already hosted some of boxing’s biggest fights and events. "There is big opportunity in boxing" Al-Sheikh told ESPN earlier this year. "But you must improve the market."

SURJ Sports Investments, previously called SRJ Sports Investments and owned by PIF, bought a stake in the United States' Professional Fighters League in August 2023.

Since then, boxers like heavyweight Tyson Fury have made their way to Riyadh for fights, attended by Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined the kingdom’s soccer league last year.

BOXER RYAN GARCIA TESTED POSITIVE FOR BANNED SUBSTANCE OSTARINE

 Star boxer Ryan Garcia tested positive for the performance-enhancing substance ostarine the day before and the day of his upset win over Devin Haney last month, per a Voluntary Anti-Doping Association letter sent to all parties Wednesday and obtained by ESPN.

The urine samples were collected prior to the fight, but the results weren't known until later.

Garcia has 10 days to request that his B-sample be tested. Garcia's A-sample also screened positive for 19-norandrosterone, but its presence is unconfirmed until further lab analysis.

"Everybody knows that I don't cheat," Garcia said in a video posted on X. "Never taken a steroid. ... I don't even know where to get steroids. ... I barely take supplements. Big lies, I beat his ass."

Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions said in a statement that it is working with Garcia's team to "determine how this finding came to be."

"Ryan has put out multiple statements denying knowingly using any banned substances -- and we believe him," Golden Boy said in its statement.

Garcia, 25, floored Haney three times and won by majority decision, but that result now stands to be overturned unless the B-sample returns negative, which is rare.

"We learned about this situation not too long ago and it's unfortunate Ryan cheated and disrespected both the fans and the sport of boxing by fighting dirty and breaking positive not once, but twice," Haney said in a statement to ESPN.

"... Ryan owes the fans an apology, and by his recent tweet he still thinks this is a joke. We put our lives on the line to entertain people for a living. You don't play boxing. This puts the fight in a completely different light. Despite the disadvantage, I still fought on my shield and got back up! People die in this sport. This isn't a joking matter."

Garcia (25-1, 20 KOs) also missed weight ahead of the fight, registering 143.2 pounds for the WBC 140-pound title fight. Garcia paid Haney (31-1, 15 KOs) upward of $600,000 for his failure to make weight. It also meant Garcia was ineligible to win the title, though he rose to No. 2 in ESPN's junior welterweight rankings following the major upset.

Haney, who fights out of Las Vegas, remained the junior welterweight champion even in defeat. He fell to No. 4 in ESPN's 140-pound rankings and lost his pound-for-pound recognition after being ranked No. 6 by ESPN going into the fight.

"Safety, fairness, and integrity in professional athletic competition are essential," the New York State Athletic Commission said in a statement to ESPN. "The Commission is in communication with VADA and is reviewing the matter."

Ostarine is a selective androgen receptor modulator that attaches to proteins in the body and effectively tells muscles to grow. It is used to aid performance by helping athletes build muscle mass and enhance their rate of fat loss and also to increase stamina and recovery ability.

It has been on the World Anti-Doping Agency's banned list since 2008 and in 2022 was listed as an anabolic agent by WADA.

Ostarine has been used in boxing before. Lucian Bute tested positive for it in 2016 following a draw with Badou Jack in their WBC super middleweight title fight. The result was changed to a DQ win for Jack.

Amir Khan was handed a two-year ban by UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) after he tested positive for ostarine following his sixth-round TKO loss to Kell Brook in 2022.

Haney was a -900 favorite, according to ESPN BET, but he closed at -575 after Garcia missed weight. The slick-boxing Haney, the former undisputed lightweight champion, had never been knocked down entering the fight, but Garcia deposited him on the canvas in Rounds 7, 10 and 11 with his lightning-quick left hook to pull out the victory.

The win was a career-altering performance for Garcia, who has never won a world title but boasts a massive social media presence with more than 12 million followers on Instagram. His lone career defeat came via seventh-round TKO vs. Gervonta Davis last April.

Haney defeated future Hall of Famer Vasiliy Lomachenko last May to retain his four 135-pound titles. He made his 140-pound debut in December with a shutout decision victory over Regis Prograis to win the WBC junior welterweight title.

- Mike Coppinger, ESPN

BOXING: FLOYD MAYWEATHER AACHANA NA GOLDEN BOY PROMOTIONS

Baada ya CEO wa Golden Boy Promotions, Richard Shaefer, kuachia ngazi kambi ya Mayweather Promotions kupitia CEO wao Leonard Ellerbe wamesema hawatafanya tena kazi na Golden Boy Promotions.