De La Hoya Attacks Joshua, Wilder
Golden BOY promoter Oscar De La Hoya launched an extraordinary Twitter tirade pleading with Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder to sign up with him.
The former six-weight world champion took to social media on Thursday, campaigning for the heavyweight rivals to join his stable in order to find their true purpose and achieve their dreams in the US.
“If @anthonyfjoshua and @BronzeBomber want to become household names in the US of A and stop doing mediocre ratings on Showtime, call me and I’ll make you superstars in the beautiful USA. #GoldenBoyPromotions,” he tweeted.
The statement ignited fierce debate as users weighed in on whether the move would benefit Joshua, who headlined his third stadium fight in just 11 months against Joseph Parker in Cardiff on Saturday night.
De La Hoya spent more than an hour replying to fans, suggesting while Joshua’s recent achievements are impressive, he still has some way to go before cracking the US market.
“I guess he’s fine making £15m when he can make £40,” he told one user, calling Joshua “irrelevant” in America.
“To be honest, the @anthonyfjoshua fight did 400k homes on cable and @BronzeBomber has done over 1.2 million.
“I’m saying he’s not making huge money! He’s a champion, I respect it. But he’s no @MikeTyson, that’s for sure.
“I’m a fighter who loves boxing and breathes boxing all my life, I want @anthonyfjoshua to be considered a legend one day and make the most money doing it!
“If I was promoting @BronzeBomber I would take him to the UK and fight him with @anthonyfjoshua then have a rematch in the US. #idiots.”
And on Wilder, the 45-year-old said, “I made him champ and look at him now ever since he left.”
Joshua defeated Parker on Saturday to clinch the 21st victory of his career in front of 80,000 fans at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
Having yet to suffer defeat in his 21-fight professional career, Joshua is currently a unified world heavyweight champion with the IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO titles to his name, with the last one coming as a result of the Parker victory on Saturday.
Joshua’s deal with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom runs out at the end of this year and he is yet to sign an extension to that contract.
The highly lucrative US market could prove to be the next best move for the 28-year-old and could catapult him to global fame and incredible wealth.
Golden Boy’s main fighter Canelo Alvarez, who recently failed a drug test halting his bid to face Gennady Golovkin, is currently earning $50m (£36m) per fight according to De La Hoya, GiveMeSport reports.
