All signs point toward Ryan Garcia next taking on WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios.
But for a brief moment in recent days, Garcia and his team were approached to come to the rescue and engage with Jake Paul in hopes of saving Paul’s since-cancelled November 14 show against the oft-troubled Gervonta Davis.
On Thursday, Golden Boy Promotions chief Oscar De La Hoya claimed he put the kibosh on the clash because it didn’t coincide with the plans he had in place for Garcia.

“Ryan Garcia and Jake Paul weren’t close at all,” De La Hoya told reporters. “They called us. I shut it down right away. It’s just not going to happen. It can’t happen without my blessing. Long story short is I have a multi-fight contract with Ryan. We have a contract with DAZN, and they work with Netflix.

“It wasn’t the right fight for Ryan. What we want to build with Ryan is something special, just like we did with Canelo Alvarez and so many other fighters. We want to make sure he is on the right path and trajectory to get to the world title, to become a boxing superstar. And that wasn’t it. I don’t know [how Garcia felt about me shutting it down]. I haven’t talked to him.”

The business relationship must continue between Garcia and De La Hoya, who aren’t really seeing eye to eye these days.
Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs) hasn’t fought since May, when he got dropped by Rolando Romero and suffered a unanimous decision loss. It was Garcia’s first fight since serving a one-year suspension for testing positive for the performance enhancing drug Ostarine during his fight against Devin Haney in April 2024, a three-knockdown performance and majority decision win that was later overturned to a No Contest.

If the matchup materializes against Barrios, it will mark just Garcia’s second contest in the welterweight division.

“Barrios is on top of the list. It’s no secret. I think Barrios will be the guy for Ryan. It’s a matter of negotiating and making the fight,” said De La Hoya.

“We’re in talks to fight Barrios, which is a huge possibility. I commend Barrios and Ryan for wanting to make the fight. It will be a special fight. Imagine Ryan beating Barrios, something an older Manny Pacquiao couldn’t do [in July]. It would be a big accomplishment for Ryan, to finally become a world champion after all these years. It’s exciting because it’s not an easy fight, and Ryan can show the world what he is made of.”

Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan.