The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Boxing with Chris Mannix - Trouble in Garcialand

Episode Date: March 16, 2024

Mannix and Ring Magazine’s Jake Donovan discuss the latest social media behavior from Ryan Garcia, if the Garcia-Haney fight will move forward, Canelo-Munguia getting finalized, PBC’s future and (with an assist from Lou DiBella) preview the William Zepeda-Maxi Hughes fight; later, Oscar De La Hoya on Ryan Garcia, his relationship with Canelo, Zepeda, Floyd Schofield, more. #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

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Never, glad to have you here this week. Second episode this week. It's a good one. We are in Las Vegas for the Williams-Apeta Maxi Hughes 135-pound fight. That's a fight you can watch on Saturday live on DeZone. Jake Donovan, ringtvvv. Ringtv.com, Ring Magazine. He is also here on the ground in Las Vegas.

So Jake and I sat down and talked about all the news of the week from the latest social media posts from Ryan Garcia to the Canelo Alvarez, Jaime Mungia fight, to the main event, Zepeda against Hughes. And we got some help during that part of the conversation from Lou DeBella, the Hall of Fame promoter, promoter of Maxie Hughes, who jumps in and joins the podcast at the end of that talk. So stick around for that. Great conversation with Jake Donovan. A little bit later, Oscar Delahoya, the Hall of Famer, chairman, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, he sits down for a candid talk with me about Ryan Garcia.

We have all seen the post and the behavior of Ryan Garcia over the last couple of weeks. It's made a lot of people, myself included, wonder if Ryan was in the right mental state to be going into a fight, any fight, much less one like he's got coming up against Devin Haney. I talked to Oscar to get his thoughts on what he's seen from Ryan if he believes Ryan is ready. And what exactly we should expect from Ryan Garcia after all that's gone on over the last few weeks? Plus, we get into Williams-A-Pade-up, what he's expected from him.

Williams-Apeata fast becoming one of the most exciting young fighters in all of boxing and knocking on the doorstep right now for a world title shot. So stick around, good conversation with Oscar Delahoya as well. As always, subscribe, rate. review this podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and wherever you download podcast, still getting feedback about a potential live show in New York the week of April 20th.

If you want to see one, jump into my social media, jump into the comments on Apple Podcasts. Let me know what you think. If you'd like to go, if you want to be a part of it, if there's interest, we'd love to get some feedback from you on that

as we try to figure out if that's workable for the Garcia-Haney Fight Week. We want to do it. We just want to make sure it's done the right way if we do. So let me know on those social channels, on Apple Podcast, and we'll make a decision on that in the next couple of weeks. All right, when we come back, my conversation with Jake Donovan and a little bit from Lou DeBella. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast, Superhuman, documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win.

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Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-taped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast.

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All right, Jake Donovan, joining me in person this week. I think this might be our first in-person podcast, Jake. It is, absolutely. And you're first as a senior writer with ring magazine, ringtv.com. Are you enjoying the ring experience, the Dougie Fisher experience? Yeah, very much so. You know, I always said, you know, growing up, like Doug Fisher, like he was, he made it possible for guys like me to become, you know, to make a living out of this industry.

So just to be able to work alongside him, you know, he is my boss, but like he was, he made it very clear. We work alongside, you know, one another. So it's, yeah, it's been a treat so far these past few weeks. Nobody loves Ring Magazine like Doug Fisher. I did a podcast with him a couple of months ago. Yeah. And he was all about the history of Ring Magazine.

I still wish it there was at least, I still wish it was a monthly print edition. And that's just coming from somebody that's part of a dying medium in the print business as well. But I still wish there was like that monthly print issue to hit my mailbox still. I agree 100%. I mean, it's because the same energy is put into creating the digital magazine. Sure, of course. Like it's tight deadlines, you know, the show being a little later than you want to. Yeah.

Yeah. No, I'm with you, Matt. I do miss, you know, just going to my mailbox, pulling that magazine now. So now we just settle for the special editions. Exactly. Still the same energy in the digital. 100%.

All right, so we are here in Las Vegas for the Golden Boy Show, Williams of Peda against Maxie Hughes, headlines that I find. I want to get into that. But it seems like every time I record an episode, something new happens in the life of one Ryan Garcia, who as we speak is still scheduled to face Devin Haney on April 20th.

So in the last couple of days, Jake, Ryan Garcia has claimed he was raped, claimed he witnessed raped, claimed he knows who killed Tupac, claims he knows there is proof of alien life, claimed the sports drink prime has cyanide in it, claimed his credit cards were frozen and he was taken advantage of,

claimed Devin Haney was taking banned substances, and claimed he was going to bite both of Devin Haney's ears off. And on Thursday, Ryan ran through the streets of Dallas asking random people if they were pedophiles. So we've continued to escalate with Ryan Garcia. So I'll ask you this way. How confident are you right now that these two guys get in the ring on April 20th? Well, I mean, Chris, I'm sure you've been asked this ever since you touched down in Vegas.

That's the first question, not even about this show. Is April 20 still moving forward? Is Ryan Garcia going to make it? Everyone who is involved, as far as I know, they've been telling me we're down until the wheels completely fall off. I don't know if we're at the point where we're down to one wheel, two wheels, but this has been, yeah, beyond, even by boxing standards, this has been a bizarre promotion, but I have not been given any indication that they were going to cancel the bend in any way, shape, or form. I can't say people are confident that Ryan Garcia will show up on April 20th. Nobody's certainly on board with, you know, what he's doing. I've been told by sources, you know, that surrounding his team that they're not, you know, completely on board, but he's doing his part until I hear Derek James publicly bitching about his actions.

We're moving forward with April 20th. I think the only entity that could stop this fight now is probably the New York State Athletic Commission. Yes. And you've probably heard the same things I have about the Athletic Commission looking to do a mental health test, which is within their purview to order and do. I don't know. That's not typical procedure, right? Typical procedures, physicals and blood tests and things like that. Mental health tests are not standard operating procedure for.

the New York Athletic Commission. And I don't even know what a mental health test for Ryan would show up. I mean, I think he's fully capable of walking into a meeting with a doctor and saying, look, I'm just trying to sell a fight here. I'm just trolling. As he's told, people with Golden Boy. He said, I am trolling. I am just trying to drum up interest in this fight.

Now, I think that's counterproductive because you're not going to drive ticket sales by behaving in a way that make people believe a fight's not going to happen. And even now, ticket sales have not been great of late. They have not. So I think that's problematic. But I think even if there is a mental competency test, Ryan Garcia could hopefully pass. So I'm like 70-30 right now, Jake, that I think this fight is going to happen April 20th. Yeah, I think I'm a little bit more optimistic.

Just because so much is being invested, I know, like, even when they announced Barclays, and then Ryan said, no, this fight belongs in Vegas. Like, there was, like, there was no way that fight was moving. like Barclays would have just sued the hell out of everybody involved. So I think it's at the point there way too far gone to, you know, pull out at this point. What you're saying with New York State Athletic Commission, I think it's very fair. I think they would have to have the on the card established because you can't just say we're testing Ryan Garcia. Like that's discriminatory no matter, you know, all the crazy antics he's doing.

So they're going to have to test everyone. Well, I think Devin said he'd take one. Of course. Devin's right down the street. Like you're like, sure, right. I'm working out every day. He has absolutely no reason not to. So, you know, they would just have to establish.

even if they just, I guess, limited to that fight, but that would have to take place sooner than later because, you know, you can't drag it down to the wire and then decide, you know, in April 18th, oh, Ryan Garcia is not fit to fight. The other side of this is, look, Ryan was an underdog coming into this fight, right? I think if this fight goes forward

is a very good chance he gets absolutely annihilated, right? Because, look, Devin's always been professional. He is, and he's getting better by the fight. You can certainly make the argument that Devin Haney is peaking right now at this point in his career. It's impossible to think that Ryan Garcia is going to be in that kind of headspace

where he is going to be able to beat someone like Devin Haney. He's always going to have that speed, that power advantage. And look, as we always say, it takes one punch from Ryan Garcia to change the course of the fight. But Devin is not Oscar Duarte.

Devin is not Francisco Pianetta. Devin is not some of the... Even Luke Campbell. Devin is disciplined. Devin's going to have a game plan. he's going to take that left hand away from Ryan Garcia, probably in the same way he took the left hand away from Regis Progray. This has the potential, Jake, and real bad for Ryan.

Because I think, like, if you're asking me to predict now the most likely outcome, you know, Devin's been consistent saying he's going to make Ryan quit. I can see the pathway to that. Not like a one-punch quit, but just like, I am beating you down so bad that by the eighth, ninth, tenth, round you're like, you know what, I don't want anymore. Yeah, if memory serves, Devin's last stoppage was a Devin's, Yeah, and I think he broke his nose. That wasn't like a traditional stoppage.

Injury stoppage, yeah. Antonio Moran was like the last real stoppage. Yeah, a knockout of the year, no less. And again, I'm with you. I don't think it's going to be anything along those lines. I've been saying, like, this isn't a cash out fight for Ryan, but like the antics get old very quickly. And if he's going to keep doing this every super fight, you know, acting, you know,

it's just Ryan Garcia versus the world. Like, this could be his last opportunity like that. Like, he might have to go to the sideshow route after this. I think he has all the talent in the world. Which is crazy because he's not, like, he's not a side show. He is a 15-time national champion, a silver gloves fighter, a golden gloves fighter, a prospect in every definition of the word who is banging on the door of a world title shot. He should not have to go that route.

Yeah, I mean, he's a guy, too, like, even if he wound up fighting Roley on April 20th, like, that was like, I'm not saying he would beat Roley outright, but if he did, he would win a title, like, that's the potential he could live up to. He's a guy that could, you know, carry the sport when his mind is set, right? I will say all the stuff he's doing, you know, you mentioned it too, it's not. going to phase Devin Haney. It's the wrong one. Devin Haney has always been, you know, very vision-driven. He always knows the path he wanted to travel. It just took the right guys to get there. He focused on that, like they talked about the Four Kings. He was the guy that always wanted them all.

He's the one that's chasing after him. Now, I know Ryan has fought, you know, two, you know, out of them like this saying, oh, he's the one making these fights. Devon has always been right there calling these guys out. Devin stood right next to me the night, Ryan Garcia, knocked out, Luke Campbell, waiting for Mauricio to order that fight. Ryan didn't fight for the rest of the year. But Devin still traveled his own path. He fought Jorge Linaris, which, you know, he was at that point. Joseph Diaz was picking up a lot of work for Ryan Garcia that year. Devin went and fought Joseph Diaz, beat him. Travel to him. We know the story with Devin. So it's the wrong guy to try to pull these antics because he's not going to lose sight of what he needs to do on April 20th. No, he's not.

He's going to be locked in and focused and ready to go. Look, Devin's concerned right now is that the fight does get scrapped? Like, he's talking to people all the time. Be like, is he okay? Is this fight going to go forward? We're five and a half or so weeks away. He's constantly, you know, talking about that. I think the question I have, Jake, is almost a moral one at this point. Like, you know, we all want to see the fight happen. It's a big fight. It's eventually going to sell a lot of tickets at the Barclays Center. It's an event between two top guys in that weight class.

But when you have his brother saying something's wrong, his ex-wife saying something's wrong, his father suggesting that something is wrong, all these people that have been in his life for a long period of time saying something is wrong, is it morally okay for this fight to go forward? I mean, I think that's a legitimate question to ask. I was saying this as I'm sure you're beginning,

all these texts as well, everyone asking, when's Jake Paul fighting Mike Tyson? How do I get to get it? Yeah, it's true. This is the sport we live in. Yeah. It is concerned. I'm glad that his family is open and expressing concern. Not Henry's just like playing it down.

He's like, oh, you know, we got a game plan. Like, he's even said, like, I think my son is trolling. He's just doing it like in the... I don't even think Henry believes that, though. I think there's legitimate concern. I agree. I think they're just, that's a public-facing sentiment. I think deep down, and I know deep down there's a concern there.

I mean, I've heard from enough people behind the scenes with some crazy stuff that they don't want publicly put out there. But trust me, it's not great about what they're interpreting and they're explaining. I think there's genuine concern amongst family members. No, I agree. And then this is where I look to, like, Derek James is not a guy who just trains a guy to pick up a paycheck too. So I'm hoping, like, if he sees something at some point, he might even step up. Do you think Derek?

Look, I like to think the best of Derek James, too. But to a degree, like I was at the New York Press conference. I watched the L.A. one. He's kind of sat there. I mean, this is a part of. of me. Yeah, there's a part of me thinks Derek's like, all right, Ryan wants to go through with this. It's a good payday for me. Whatever, we'll do it. As long as he's not awful. He's still got to make 140. Like that, Ryan didn't make 140 in his last fight, so that could

be a potential challenge. I wonder. I wonder what Derek James's mindset is in all this. That video that was out there of like Ryan kind of shadow boxing with Frank Martin and Frank not really interested in engaging with Ryan on that one. It was just, the whole thing is just weird, man. The whole thing is really quite bizarre. So we'll see. I mean, by the time I record the next episode, something new will happen. But Ryan did say I saw Ryan's most recent post, which I think was Thursday night, Friday morning, and he said some of the effect, I'm going zero dark red.

I'm not going to post ever again. Now, he did that before. Right. And then he immediately went on Spaces and Instagram Live and did some crazy stuff. But the best thing for him is to go dark on social media, to say nothing. Have your team members post fight-related things. stop cash-happing fans. I don't know what that's all about.

Stop giving away tickets. Stop engaging on any level whatsoever with that stuff. I think it would be best for everyone about because once he goes dark, then they could actually promote the event, not just promote the antics of Ryan Garcia. Yeah, I don't know how, look, craziness in fight promotion is not new, right?

I mean, I talked to Oscar Delahoy about this yesterday. He was part of some wacky ones. This just feels a little bit different. It feels a little bit more significant, to get more serious than than otherwise have. So we'll see what happens with that one.

On Tuesday, there is going to be a press conference in Los Angeles for the Canelo Alvarez, Jaime Mungia fight. This fight's been in the works for a couple of weeks now,

recently announced this past week. The question people have is how competitive this fight is going to be. I think there's a belief amongst boxing people, Jake, that Mungia has done enough

to earn this opportunity. Not as much as David Benevides. He has earned it the most. But Mungia, terms of earning a shot at the undisputed super middleweight championship it's certainly more than edgar belanga it's more than even david more than christian mabili like he has been a star for some years now he looked great in his last fight but it's also the same question what can he do against canelo like he's going up against a guy that's going to hit harder than anyone he's faced

before has more experience than anyone he's faced before uh how do you see this fight right now now two months out. So before I get there, I will say that, you know, I've been on the show. You've banged the drum. I bang the drum. The fact that we're not getting Canelo and David Benavitas, we are let down by that. Once you move past that, this is probably the best option, if only from a marketing standpoint. I love that Kenello was throwing out red herrings all along, you know, at one point,

like media was reporting that he's not going to fight a Mexican. I still don't know where they got that he's only going to fight an American, but. He said it though, right? Like he said, I'm fighting an American. He said it. I have yet to hear it recorded. That's, you're right. It was on the TV S tech.

Apparently said it was reported. out of that. But you're right. Yeah, that was a... Yeah, so there were a bunch of red herrings people thought he was pissed off at Al-Haman and then he bolted from there, then he went, he was going back to the zone. He and Eddie were back to wearing, you know, whatever pajamas they wear. And then all of a sudden he's back. So I just love that everyone was like wrong. He kept everyone guessing all along. So he got us to the point where I think we're willing to accept the fact that he's fighting Jaime Mungia. To me, from marketing standpoint, it is, it is the best alternative to him

fighting David Benevarez, which I do believe still will happen. From a competitive standpoint, I don't know, maybe I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Jaime Mungia. I love the fact that he's going in on what I think is his career best performance based on how he won and who he'd beat. Yeah, John Ryder retired afterwards, but the things he did on that night, that was the way, like, if you're going to call out Conello, you need to deliver a performance like that, and he did. I mean, I felt like even with his fight of the year with Sergei Devinchenko,

I felt he struggled way too much for a guy that is like the, you know, the era parent to the supermodal weight division. The fact that he did what he did against Ryder, I like that momentum going in. we all expect Canello to win. I happen to think that Mugia is going to be more competitive than most others. Well, I don't know if he's going to get stopped. It's been, I think Canelo's last stoppage was what, Caleb Plant?

That was more than two years ago. I think we've seen the best of Canelo. He's not a shot fighter by any means, but I think we've seen his optimal prime already. Maybe this will bring it out of him, maybe fighting another Mexican. He doesn't want to let his fans down. He doesn't want to lose that battle. So maybe we will see that, you know, one last peak version of Canello. I think Mungia is going to be competitive.

I don't expect him to win. Even as a writer, I am kind of rooting for him to pull off the upset. But I don't, like I said, I don't think it's a terrible fight. I don't think it's going to be a complete mismatch. Can I tell you, this might be a hot take. I think Canello has to knock him out. Yeah. Because I don't think Canello's punch output is going to match Mungia's on fight night.

That being said, I think if you're looking at the best odds, I think Kinello by knockout is probably going to be the best odds. Because Mungia, in addition to leaving his chin exposed, a lot. When he does, he gets hurt. We saw him hurt against Dervichenko. Ryder clipped him a couple of times. You go all the way back to his days at 154.

Spico Sullivan hurt him back then. Like, Mungia gets hurt when he gets into fights, and he's never been hit by someone with this kind of power. And the thing I don't like, even with the Ryder fight, like, Ryder had like that good little stretch in the middle of the fight. There was like maybe two rounds in a row. Like, Mugia just has those lapses every single fight, and you can't have that against Canello.

Even if you're winning the first four, five, six rounds, Canello's going to catch up to you eventually. So it's like he has to be 100%. Whereas Canello, it's like he can find that one opening and deliver that explosive performance. Yeah, I agree. And that's how I think it's going to end. I can see Mungia winning two of the first four rounds, three of the first five rounds even, but then sixth round rolls around, seventh round rolls a round.

I think he's going to hit. What he won't do, though, is he won't fight like Jermal Charlano did. Mongia is coming to fight. I can't even fathom the idea of Jaime Mungia fighting backing up. Like it doesn't compute. He doesn't know how. He's 43 wins into his professional. career. So I think at the very least, you can have confidence he's going to come forward in this

fight. Yeah, I mean, even just the scenario would describe. Like, I don't think he fights anything like Ameri Khan, but I can picture a fight kind of like that where he's doing well. Wasn't he up like on the Garland? Yeah, he was up to me. So like, McGe is doing well just up until he's not at that moment. So up until he gets clipped. What have you made of Canello's kind of realignment with PBC for this fight? I mean, it was a wild couple of weeks where, you know, Canello exits the three fight deal. everyone is celebrating Rick Glazer and then he comes back and does

what is now a one fight deal with PBC which involves a Golden Boy and DeZone fighter making this fight kind of a co-production deal with the zone I don't know exactly how all that's going to work out but what do you make of the exit and then realignment with PBC? I'm saying this

because I'm pretty sure you and I had the same sources on this like some of us just were not surprised by how this played out there were people who were reading the tweets. I'm not going to call anybody out, but they were like convinced Al-Hamond's dead, you know, dead to Canelo, whatever. I even knew, like, Mungi was in the conversation all long. Everyone said, oh, talks broke up. Like, no, they haven't broke off. The only thing they weren't sure about is if Mungia was going to get the May 4th fight. So I'm not surprised

at how it ended up. It just, I thought it was so irresponsible. There were a few of us, though, who were on top of it, though. So maybe that's why I'm just not like surprised that. I said, I've told anyone who would listen to me, no matter how it plays out, Canello was going to win. Al-Haman's not going to win. Golden Boy's not going to win. The Zone's going to And Canello ultimately is going to get what he wants somehow. And he got what he wanted. He's getting, they told him he had to fight Mungia instead of Charlo. So we went back to PBC.

So, okay, I'm going to fight Mungia, but I'm not going to do it for the money. You told me. He's making more than, you know, what he was supposed to make. He's making a lot. He is. I've heard it's in excess of $40 million that he's making for this fight. Mungia, well in excess of $5 million for this fight. Like the guarantees are significant, Jake.

Yes. Yes. And again, that's why I said, you know, from marketing standpoint, this is the fight you have to have. because I never saw a Canelo-Germal-Challa fight as sellable, especially coming off, you know, the Jamel-Trollow fight. Granted, the two different fighters, but the average fan just going back to the Klitschkos, they couldn't tell them apart.

I think people would have a hard time differentiating, well, why is he fighting a Charlo again? It's like, we just saw that, and it wasn't a very good fight. And I don't even think that event did as well as advertised. So I think if that fight was profitable as they claimed, then I think maybe there would have been a shot at doing the Jamal Chal. Can we just give people advice on pay-per-view reporting, right? Like, if it gets reported as X, subtract 20% from it.

Correct. At least that's where it is. I had one promoter, and I'm not going to name him, but I had one promoter tell me he has never once told the truth to a reporter about paperview buys. Because they're under no obligation to do it. Like, unless we just had a promoter in here, Lou DeBella, who could probably confirm it in a minute. I don't know where he went. Unless you are getting it from a network. The pay-per-view buys that are being reported are lies.

It's just as simple as that. See, we know, Lou DeBella has walked back into the room. And it's no longer the 20% roll. How did you hear that from like, you were 25 feet away when I said that? I bet the 20% rules. Lou hears all. Lou DeBella is here for a moment. That gives me a good reason to transition as Lou is parked himself next to us this.

We got a good fight this weekend, Williams and Peta going up against Maxie Hughes. Title Eliminator with a world title shot, at least possible in the next fight for either of these two guys. I'm a huge Zepeda fan, as most people are, including the guy next to us, Lou DeBella. He has really taken off over the last couple of years. High volume puncher, strong puncher, TV-friendly as they get. He's got Maxie Hughes in front of him. And I like Maxie Hughes, too. But it's like they said, it's like Rocky's trainer said and Rocky, too.

He's all wrong for you, baby. Like, he's all wrong for you, Maxi. Like, this is a guy in Zepeda that you either have to out throw, which statistically, Maxi does not do, or you have to land something big to back him up or hurt him, which, given Maxi's five knockouts, is problematic. How do you see this flight going tomorrow night? I like the fact that, you know, Maxi, as far as he's concerned, and as far, you know, I'm not going to speak for Lou, but it's like he's given the fair chance. It's not just Williams of Paytaverse, that guy from England's. Like, you know, his face has been plastered

all over this promotion. They're making him feel like, you know, and A side. So I like his mentality going in, and he said it throughout. Like, even though he didn't get the win against George Gambos's, he's getting this fight based on merit. A lot of people thought he should have won that fight. So he's going in off what he feels is his best performance. Everything said about Zepeda is true. It's like this is his year. I like the way it's led to this year.

I felt like they got Zepeda to a certain point, and then they kept asking about Chikora, kept asking about Tank. It's like, okay, well, if you're ready for these guys, then why are you on this path? You know, why did you fight the guys you did last year? But it's all aligned with what Golden Boy has going on as well. They have a much better spot at the table with the zone this year.

They have a lot of opportunity. and a lot of their guys have the chance to shine. Zapata is a very big factor in that equation. This is an opportunity for him to really make a showcase performance. I think we're going to see a better version of Maxi Hughes even than what we saw against George Camposa just because of the styles, because it's hard to look bad against Williams-Zepeda. It's just really, really hard to beat him as well. All right, Lou, we're going to give you a chance to shill for your guy here.

Hold on. Tell me the path to victory here because, look, I'm calling this fight tomorrow and I don't quite see it. Okay, I hear you. Look, I am as a paid a fan, and I said that publicly because everyone knows I am. I mean, I've been for a while. I love that style of fighting. I love high volume. I love high pressure. I love a little bit of defense to the wind. You know what I mean? Maxi has to fight a perfect fight. The one thing about Maxi is he's a very good Matador. And even with those losses, half those losses shouldn't be losses. In fact, about four of them shouldn't be losses. But he has that kind of style where it's also easy to steal from you because he's not a big puncher, he doesn't punch. His greatest offense is fighting a defensive fight where he's landing counters on you, throwing,

he has a decent jab, a good jab, he's landing jabs on you. He has to beat a Zepeda type of fighter, he has to fight a perfect fight. He's capable of it. I thought he fought a near perfect fight against George. Now that being said, I still thought it was very, very close. I didn't think it was a robbery, robbery. I thought that the wide scores were ridiculous.

The wide scores were ridiculous. And he had every right to feel robbed. And I get the fact that most people thought he was one, because if you're the kind of guy that I'm wearing a t-shirt right now that says, if you could be anybody, be yourself, unless you could be Prunall Whitaker. If you could be Prunall Whitaker, always be Prunell Whitaker. He's not Prunel Whitaker, but he's a very, very good Matador.

He's a very good boxer. He doesn't get hit a lot. Can Zepeda hit him a lot? That's going to be the determining factor. It's a very difficult fight, but it's not an unwinnable fight. I'm not shilling for him because I think it's a very, very hard fight. But I do think it's an interesting matchup. It's a real traditional Matador Bull kind of matchup.

It's also like I'm tired of like watching like elimination bouts and vacant title fight bouts and interim title fight bouts where one of the guys is a fucking hobo. Like I'm tired of it. And now when I see an eliminator where the guys have earned the right to be there, I like the fight going in. I like this one going in because I do think it's a good style match. Matador Bull, you can't miss. But Bull Bull is more exciting. Matador Bull is a good fight. But it's a legitimate fight where the winner, the stakes are high. It's not only an elimination for one organization, it's elimination for two. So the winner this fights a mandatory and two separate organizations. That's obviously huge to Maxi.

He wants that big, big opportunity. It's even bigger for Zepeda, who's probably scarier to some degree because of the power and more avoided because of the power. Right? A great fighter with not a lot of punching power is never avoided the way

a Benavita is avoided or Zepeda is avoided. Because not only can that guy, if you don't fight a really good fight, like beat you, the guy could beat the fuck out of you. The guy could knock you cold. The guy could really do damage to you. So it's a really important fight for both guys.

Both deserve to be here. Look, I made a promise to Maxiuse, and I really thanked Goldenboard this press conference. I'm going to say the same kind of thing now because it's really true. I didn't want this kid to get paid like a loser. He didn't deserve to get paid like a loser

after the Cambosis fight. He deserved to be paid for an opportunity and he deserved to be paid fairly. And I had one conversation who was more conceptual with Eric Gomez where I said, look, Eric, I'm not going to be a pain in the ass here, but I got to pay this kid fair.

He's got to make more than he made for his last fight because he performed in his last fight. He's here now because he performed in his last fight. He didn't lose, right? There was no loser in that fight. And to Eric's credit, he agreed with me. And he said, throw out a number. I said, I'm not going to throw out one outrageous.

I gave him a number. And he gave me a number. And then within two 15-minute conversations, we had settled on the fight. And Maxi feels like he's being treated fairly by the sport. That he's not getting the middle finger flipped at him after many people, most people maybe, thought he'd be Cambosis. So I'm happy he's getting the opportunity.

I think it's going to be a good fight. I think he's got a real chance. I'm not going to sit there thinking I have a nooper. This is not how I'm going into the fight. I'm also not going into the fight beating my chest saying my guy's going to win. And here's why. I don't know if my guy's going to win. He's an underdog, legitimately.

Because when you have two really, really good guys and one of them style is to avoid being hit and the other guy's style is to take your damn head off generally the guy, other things being equal, the guy who takes your head off has an edge. So it's a tough fight, but Maxie's deserving of it. And also, I love this kid, like as a person. I didn't know him at all until I made the deal with him.

And by the way, the way we made the deal to Cambosis was he had always felt that he had never been given the opportunity to show that he's a world-class fighter and that he was treated like a domestic, fighter and constantly he was being put in domestic fights against kids that were supposed to beat him. But Maxi kept beating them or getting robbed against them. So everyone knew, okay, well Maxi's not just a guy. Maxi's pretty good, right?

But he never got that opportunity. The Cambosa fight gave him that opportunity. Now for the first time in his life, he's headlining a show. He's in Las Vegas at a beautiful casino. His family's here with him. He has his two little girls there and they could know that they were there when their dad fought, you know, this big fight in Vegas. I'm glad that he's getting this opportunity and being treated the way he deserves to be treated.

Maxi, who is one of the nicest guys. He's a smart kid, very bright. His wife is very bright. They're all about raising two kids, having a home, being regular people. And he's the kind of kid that you love to work with. So when you can see good things happening and whatever the result is of this fight,

the last couple of fights of his career have helped define him in a different way. And he could lose both these fights. That's the irony. He could lose both these fights well. But what people were a member of Maxiuse was Maxiuse was a world-class guy who made the most of his talent. And does he have the ability to beat this kid? He does, tomorrow night, he does.

But it has to be a near perfect fight. Yeah, and, you know, Lou brought up a good point, though, too. The thing I like with Maxi is they kept throwing him in with guys where he was supposed to lose against. Like, I don't even think they thought he was going to beat Joan O'Carroll. And then even could gallhead. And the fight that Maxi pointed out, look, Giovanni Straffone fights nothing like. like Williams a Peda, but he said, okay, I feel like that was a good warm up for where I'm getting.

So he's not going in cold to this fight. He had a bunch of fights where, you know, they didn't expect him to win and they didn't do anything for him. So now the sport, to lose point, they're finally doing something for him. To have that confidence going into a fight like this, that makes a huge difference. Luke, let me ask you this then. What does he have to, you say the mat, like being a matador is one thing.

But at some point you've got to throw punches. At some point, if you're going to try to win a decision, you've got to outland a guy that lands a whole bunch of shots. If you're going to knock him out, you've got to sit down, exchange, throw a punch. with him. What, besides avoid these flurries, what does he have to do? You can hit William

with jabs. He doesn't go and he walks right through and doesn't give a shit. You could hit, but you can hit William with jabs. And Maxey has a very good one. And Maxey also has very good movement. Like, particularly for a white kid. I mean, I'm not to cite it, but it's just just the truth. He is a very good movement. He has to be moving away

from those punches. He has to be landing his jab. His jab has to outland sepade his jab significantly. If he's going to win the fight, he's going to win the fight on stellar defense and jabs as well as he can counter. George Cambosis learned that Maxi can counter. So you could throw a combination on Maxi. If he's not getting hit flush with those punches, he can return something that you feel.

And he has to do that often. It's not impossible. It's a big task, you know. But look, I also, the funny part is my guy's fighting is a peter. I probably am like one of the guys that thinks more. I think Zepeda is a real... I don't think there's a single guy in the division that Zepeda is not a threat to.

You know, now at 135. You know, now that guys have moved up. I don't think a Devin Haney is anyone he ever wants to see. But I don't think there's a single guy that he's not a little bit scary for. Even as Shikor Stevenson. Because I don't think Shikor Stevenson likes to get hit. And I think Zepaida be up his ass.

And after I saw the last showing from Shikor, you know, if Shikor wins the fight, in a bad style he'll get booed out of the building but zepeda is a problem for sepeda could lose this fight he's a problem for anybody it's a problem for anybody because it make you work harder than you have to work elsewhere he's always on your ass he never stops throwing punches he's got a tremendous motor like a tremendous motor he's literally he's the kind of guy i just like if you want to entertain me give me to zepaed is fighting each other On that, last thoughts on Zepeda?

I mentioned this with Zepeda as well. One of his main sparring partners is 140-pound knockout artist and champion up there, Superail Matias. Like if you're surviving those wars in that gym with him, it's like, you know, getting his rhythm down. That's a very tough guy to overcome. Let me get, before I let both of you guys go, your thoughts on Floyd Schofield who's fighting in the co-man event. Jake, you've seen him a lot over the years.

Lou, you said something interesting in the press conference. You thought he was a top five young fighter in boxing. So Jake, what do you think about Floyd and then, Lou, I'll let you weigh in? I like that he has, you know, all these, you know, guys on social, you know, trying to build him up through social media. He does have that Devin-Haney mindset. He wants the absolute best. I feel like I still need to see it. I need to see him against like that.

He's still, not that he's a fight or two away from being where he should be. He's a winner two away. Like, I need to see that win where, okay, this guy is really ready for that next level because there is a lot of young, solid talent. Jake's 100% right. I mean, he needs to show it. And what I sort of really meant, and I don't. know now in terms of accomplishment that I put him in top five or the younger guys, because he hasn't been elevated to the level of opposition yet, but I'll say this,

I'm a tool, I'm a believer in tools. Like I thought Devin Heaney years ago, I loved Devin Haney. I thought he could be an animal, like in terms of just skill level. And I still do. I think he's only coming into his man's strength, and I think skill level, Devin, is in the highest level of talent. I think that Floyd Schofield is in tools-wise, God-given tools. Not yet that he's put them together.

Not yet that he's had to show them against their top guy yet. Not that he's walked through the fire yet, obviously he hasn't. But that like tool package, his toolbox has a lot of fucking stuff in it. Yeah. A lot of stuff in it. It's a very good prospect. He also has a million dollar smile and he can do an interview and he's a nice kid. So like if you, if you, he's sort of a promoter's dream.

Like I look at the Golden Boy stable. He's, if I was trying to, if I was given the opportunity to steal or pick, from them and I'm not trying to. But if I was, he would be very high on that list because that tool box of his has so many tools in it. And in a great market as well in San Antonio. Yeah, no question. All right, Jake Donovan, good to see you. Lou, didn't expect to see you here, but I appreciate your time joining the show. And when we come back, my conversation with Oscar Delahoya. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast

Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. I'm like the Taylor the fourth. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

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follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day But just so y'all know

I mean at this point Mark this is the second episode where we've discussed crack So I'm starting to see that there's a through line We also have AIDS on the table right now So Thank you finishing that sentence I don't think there's a more important year for black people

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All right, Oscar Delahoya, in, as I just said, full promoter mode today in Las Vegas here in support of some of his younger fighters, Williams Zapata, headlining a card this weekend against Maxie Hughes. Floyd Schofield also on this car. A new young fighter you just signed. You always seem to have signed these guys that 17-time national champion. Like, you don't necessarily mind the Olympics for these guys. But whether it's Ryan Garcia, Floyd Schofield, among others, you. You seem to find these diamonds in the rough.

Yeah, we find them, but they also find us. Yeah. You know, that's obviously the beauty of having my background as a fighter and as an Olympian. You know, they look up to me and as a professional promoter. They want to go with the very best. The one who has the experience, the one who has the know-abouts. And so this kid, yeah, Joelle, he's the real deal.

I guess. I really, I want to see him fight in the pros and see how he does. I mean, that's when you get tested, right? So, I mean, his pedigree is by far one of the best that I've seen. So, yeah, we're hoping for big things. He's going to get some TV exposure on Saturday, the opener of the DeZone broadcast. You've been doing a bunch of interviews today about this card. You've also been consistently asked about Ryan Garcia. Today, Ryan Garcia was on Instagram live, running through Dallas, asking people if they supported pedophiles. Your thoughts on what's been going on the last couple of weeks? My thoughts are, I just, I just, look, Ryan's Ryan. I'm not, I'm not in his camp. I'm not calling him every day. I, you know, I've talked to him a couple times and he seemed great with me. And

the videos I've seen of him training in the gym have been excellent. He looks great. Everything else, it's like, I mean, there's really nothing I can say because it's it's what he's doing, you know, and I just make sure that April 20th, he gets inside that ring and puts on a hell of a performance, you know. Do I believe that Devin Haney is going to just easily wipe the floor with him? I think people are going to get surprised. I think Ryan Garcia has that punching power,

that one-punch punching power to knock anybody out. The way we saw it with Duarte, where everybody thought Ryan was really not looking too good, and he's trying something new with the roller show, and then all of a sudden he knocks him out with one punch. Yeah, we're going to see Ryan April 20th, and hopefully he's at his best because Devin obviously is a professional. He's a guy who is going to be in tip-top shape to break that tiebreaker, right? Three and three that they had in the amateurs.

You're no stranger to big promotions that get a little bit crazy, right? Fernando Vargas, Ricardo, Floyd Mayweather, you name it. But does this feel a little bit different? with some of the things that Ryan is doing, some of the things that he's saying, does it feel different? Well, the subject is very sensitive. I mean, Jesus.

To say the least. That's the truth. To say the least, you know, and, you know, I don't go there. You know, nobody should go there. Obviously, I mean, obviously if you're shedding light and want to, you know, fix the issue or the problems or the, but, you know, when you're a fighter, you've got to, you know, stick to your lane. Do what you do best.

You know, I think that, I think that the best thing that Ryan can do right now is just train his ass off and be ready for April 20th. And I believe that's what he's doing, you know, the times that I've talked to him. So, yeah, we'll see. Do you believe that focus, complete focus matters, right? Because Devin, whatever you want to say about Devin, he's as focus as they get. Like he is as disciplined a fighter as I've seen over the last few years. He's very locked in, locked step with what he's doing. All the stuff that Ryan's doing, the things he's putting his hand into,

is that problematic when you're preparing for a fight that is going to take the kind of distance? I mean, this is going to be a tough fight for him. It's interesting because we're in this day and age of social media that when we see a post, we think that that's all he's doing all day. Like, it takes like 10 seconds to put a post up. And Ryan said it perfectly, like, well, all I'm doing is training all day. It takes me 10, 20. Even if it takes him half hour to make a post, it's still only half an hour of the day.

So it all depends. I mean, I don't know exactly what he's doing, where his head is at, including Devin Haney, I don't, maybe Devin Haney's not focused. Maybe he's got problems, issues. You never know, right? Internal issues, internal problems, you know, whatever it might be. We just never know. But when people see the post, it's what they go with, right?

They go with Ryan, oh my gosh, he's not, he's not focused. He's, is he going to be ready? No, he will be ready. He will be focused. He will be up in that ring. April 20th and look that's why people love watching Ryan you never know

what you're going to get it is the post but you also have his brother saying I'm worried about him his ex-wife saying I'm worried about him him bringing up things like child rape which is powerful stuff I mean like that is as real as it gets

like at what point should all of us be really worried about him well I mean we obviously as a boxing community we worry about our colleagues we worry about people you know who are who need help right I mean we all worry but I'm not a doctor I'm not a doctor I don't know exactly what's going on in his mind I really don't maybe it's just a troll maybe it's just who knows I don't know exactly why or how he's going about this and again I'm not a doctor but

look I I've seen him in the gym. I've seen him work out and train and fucking looks great. It looks great. How confident are you right now that April 20th we see Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney fight? 1,000%. Really? Yeah, 1,000%. Absolutely 1,000%. He has sparring partners in this camp that are no joke. I mean, he's taking this very serious. Whether we see it or we don't, he's taking it very serious. So, yeah, I'm super confident he'll be up in that ring April 20th. And, I mean, the one guy that should be worried is Devin Haney. You know, I get calls from them every day. Is the fight happening? Is the fight happening? So do I, Oscar. So, so do. And I tell

Devin, dude, don't worry about it. Just train. Just be ready. This might be a trick. Who knows. I mentioned this is a busy calendar for Golden Boy, beginning Saturday here in Vegas all the way through Garcia. And then in May, you've got Canello against Mungia. It was a couple of weeks ago, Oscar, where you kind of threw some cold water on that fight happening on May 4th. What's changed or what changed to make this happen? Because you were kind of saying, I don't think it's going to happen right now, maybe down the line it'll happen. What changed that this fight came about? Canello changed.

I mean, that's the bottom line. I mean, I wasn't really holding my breath. I think you had Charlo, one of the Charlos, like, in line. You know, obviously people are talking about Benavides. So we didn't know what Canelo was going to decide. I was very skeptical. I didn't really want to discuss it or talk about it. So I just let Canelo make his decision.

And, you know, he chose Mungia. So, yeah, we're very fortunate that this fight is finally happening because I've been asking for it for a long time. And all-Mexican showdown is going to be a war. And, yeah, I have my guy winning, hands down. So how does you win this fight? Because I think Mungia's activity could be problematic for Canello early. But every time we've called the Mungia fight,

somebody hits him and he gets wobbled at certain times. And he hasn't been hit by a guy with this kind of horsepower behind him. That's my biggest concern that Mungia might be up 3-1 going to the fourth and then just takes a 2 by a red-headed Mexican fighter. How do you see this fight playing out? What is his path to victory? You know, when I was watching Ryder and Mungia, I was like, huh, and thinking about Connell in the future, right?

I was watching them, and after getting hit by those freaking sledgehammers, Munguia just stood right there in front of him and he was moving his head more he was using his jab and trying to use his footwork that Freddie Roach has been teaching him for the last what couple months that they've been together so everything's coming together

you know so right after that fight the writer Mungia fight I was like okay I can take a deep breath now now he's ready for Canelo now he's you know he can take that fight now I feel feel confident because Ryder was hitting with some sledgehammers that could have taken anybody

down. And guess what? Canelo couldn't take Ryder down. So the fact that Mungia knocked them down like, what, five, six times? I don't know what it was. It was pretty impressive. It was pretty impressive. Most impressive win for Highman.

Yeah, it was pretty impressive. So, look, I mean, I think that when you have a fighter like Conello, who's, we have to be honest here he's you know on the on the fourth quarter of of the game you know heading into the last few minutes of his career and you have a young kid like mungia who's up and coming i have to go with my guy um who knows it could be the changing of the guards you're a subplot of this to a degree because everybody's wondering how you and canelo will interact during this promotion uh press conference on tuesday will you be at the press conference hell yeah okay hell Hell yeah.

Okay. Because there was some talk to Canello said no Oscar on this. No Oscar, no fight. So you're just going to be as involved as you ever have been. This is your guy, Mungia. You're going to be involved. We made this fight happen. It couldn't happen without Jaime and my partner Beltran.

And, you know, we look, it was actually part of the negotiation. Oh, well, we don't want Oscar there, this and that. Well, I know you don't want me there because I'm going to talk shit to you. That's why you don't want me there. I just add. I do. I mean, look, it's not an ego thing. No, I just want to make this fight as big as it can,

as big as possible, shed some light to it, let the world know that this is happening, and then just let these guys fight in the ring, man, and just get it on. All right, so you have a guy I really like fighting this weekend, in Williams-a-Peda, who, over the last, couple of years has really become, at the very least, the most television-friendly lightweight that's out there. I mean, his punch output is incredible. This fight with Maxi Hughes is a good test,

right? Maxi's been at a championship level, at a good fight against George Camposis. What do you think, is Zepeda ready to take that next step to the elite level? Do you look at him as someone ready for the Shakur Stephenson's, as someone ready for Vasily Lomachenko, the guys that we put on that level right now? You know, when I see him, when I see Sipeda, William Zepeda, fight every single time. Obviously he's getting better. His punch output is even busier.

But he's so technical, which I love. His footwork is combined with his punching combinations. I mean, perfectly, you know. He literally does remind me of a Salvador Sanchez, you know, obviously without the big hair, but the way he moves is he's just so technically sound.

Yeah, it's been fun watching him and progressing and getting better. After this fight, when he goes in with Maxie Hughes, who has the pedigree, who has the experience on that championship level, I think after this, if the Peda is successful, yeah, let's throw him in there. Why not with Shakur-Stev. He actually is asking for Shakur-Stevenson. Why not go after him? Everybody's human.

Everybody has their flaws. Everybody can be hit. Everybody is not perfect. I think a William Sepeda, Shakur Stevenson, can be a hell of a test for both guys. Last question for you is on the co-made event. Floyd's Goldfield, he wants all the big fights. His dad has taken over his social media account. It is aggressively going after some of the top guys.

You got to slow down. Is that where we are with them? What path do you think he's on? What level do you think he's on right now? What levels do you think he's ready for in 2024? for well it's it's it's it's it's it's tricky because the guy the guy that the guy that we put Schofield in with in his last outing was never knocked out before walked right through him yeah been in there with tough competition and we really thought that was going to be a test

and freaking walks right through him knocks him down like three four times and I was surprised and I walked up to his to the guy the the Mexican kid who got knocked out and I told him like, what happened? I couldn't see it. I couldn't see his punches. That's how powerful and strong he is. So with Floyd, it's like every fight is a test until it's not. And what I mean by that is that I think I'm going to be testing him in every single fight

and he's going to be passing with flying colors. Like he's that good. You watch him train and he's the most disciplined fighter I've ever seen. in my life. For that split minute, you see it on Instagram, right? You see them like just on it. I think Floyd, after this fight, winning, we can start talking about, you know, top five competition in the world and then hopefully getting to that world title by the end of the

year. Do you wish Instagram was around when you were fighting? No. I really know. Probably a good idea. I would be a good idea. Yeah, it was a good idea that it wasn't. Oscar, good to catch up, man. Appreciate your time.

Appreciate you, man. Thank you. That's it for this week's episode. My thanks to Jake Donovan and Oscar Delahoya if we're joining the show. As always, subscribe, rate, review this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you download podcasts. And I'll see you next week. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy,

not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, NL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's super. Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me.

84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.