Oscar De La Hoya: 'Fighting again is a serious proposition. I love and miss it'

The 47-year-old promoter on his preparations for a comeback after 12 years out of the ring and why his young lightweight hope Ryan Garcia will be an even bigger star than himself

It has always been tough to tell if Oscar De La Hoya is smiling because he feels blessed to be alive or because he has something to sell. With teeth as white as his it is as easy to fix a grin as not and in pandemic-gripped boxing, there has not been much to smile about.

In a Zoom conversation from his home in California, the Golden Boy smiles pretty much from start to finish. He has two items to sell, as it happens: his unbeaten young lightweight, Ryan Garcia, who fights Luke Campbell for the interim WBC lightweight title in Dallas on Saturday, and himself.