In the backyard of Oscar de la Hoya's new home called 'Casa Holly', a $14.6 million mansion in Henderson which has expansive views of the Las Vegas strip, many of the city's iconic buildings — together with the Spring Mountain range — can be seen in the distance.
There's the unmistakable peak of the Stratosphere, as well as major casino resorts like the Wynn, Bellagio, and Paris.
Boxing fans will be well aware of the Mandalay Bay and the MGM Grand, as they're home to the Michelob Ultra Arena, and the Garden Arena, respectively. And there are new venues suitable for boxing, including T-Mobile Arena, The Sphere, and, even, the Allegiant Stadium.
De la Hoya has his eye on them all.
The Golden Boy Promotions founder bought his new home in 2022, and moved into it with his partner Holly Sonders, recently, leaving Los Angeles behind.
As ProBox TV learned late, last year, an office expansion could follow as president Eric Gomez told us in November: "It would be great for us to expand."
Now, it seems, the expansion is well on its way as Golden Boy are seemingly making a play to build a small hall venue of its own near the Raiders practise facility, create more cards in the Fight Capital of the World, and re-establish itself as one of America's pre-eminent combat sports promotional companies.
"We want to make this a Mecca of boxing," de la Hoya told ProBox TV and other reporters from his home, recently, adding that the strategy started with the recent Golden Boy event at the swaggy, off-strip property Virgin Hotels, which Vergil Ortiz headlined in and scored a first-round knockout win over Fredrick Lawson, and extends to Ryan Garcia — a fighter they believe belongs in Vegas, through to Jaime Munguia, who returns to the ring Saturday against John Ryder at the Footprint Center in Phoenix.
Munguia could headline The Sphere, or fight Canelo — one day, maybe
Fighters like Ortiz, Munguia, are Ryan Garcia are integral to Golden Boy's growth plans as they can headline fights in numerous venues throughout the US — even the $2.3 billion Sphere, an 18,600 auditorium for music and entertainment, that U2 opened last year with a 40-show residency.
De la Hoya attended the opening night alongside childhood friend and Golden Boy colleague Gomez, and they left inspired by the venue's technical capabilities. Such is might of the computer displays both internally and externally, de la Hoya told us last year, it could look like a punch was bursting through the screens and about to hook a viewer across the chin.
"I think we will [put an event at The Sphere]," he told ProBox TV and other reporters earlier this month.
"We will be the first boxing promoters to have a mega event at the Sphere. The issues are technical issues, it’s all technical, it has nothing to do with us providing the talent, them providing the venue, it’s all technical as they have this technology that is so advanced that they would not be able to transmit over our devices — so we’re figuring it out.
"I can assure you that we would want to be the first promoters to put on a boxing event at the Sphere."
As for the first headliner for such a show — it's "Ryan or Munguia," de la Hoya said. "We have plenty of fighters who can headline there."
For Munguia, should he emerge triumphant over Ryder in Arizona this weekend, an all-Mexican shootout against Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez is, according to de la Hoya, "a real possibility … a huge, mega-fight."
ProBox TV has since spoken to a source with knowledge of rival firm Premier Boxing Champions' strategy for Canelo, who does not believe Munguia would be next in line to fight him.
That source said Jermall Charlo remained a frontrunner to box Canelo on May 4 — a date TGB Promotions has already reserved with the Nevada State Athletic Commission for an event at either the T-Mobile Arena, or the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
The same source said the third Canelo fight on the PBC swing would likely, still, be against David Benavidez which, the source added, could well involve a rematch clause meaning that, if Canelo lost and activated that clause, the three-fight swing would turn into an effective four-fight deal.
From that point, Canelo would be free to either re-sign with PBC, or test free agency with Top Rank, his former promoter Matchroom, or Golden Boy Promotions.
The Munguia fight, therefore, could still happen — just not for 18 months, at least.
Speaking earlier in the month, de la Hoya said it's all "up to Canelo" as "he picks his opponents."
"I think if Munguia knocks out John Ryder, who went the distance with Canelo, that’s a pretty good statement. But, first thing’s first, Ryder, then Canelo decides. He holds the cards and I respect that."
De la Hoya continued: "I might have criticized him a bit because I had a thorn on my side because he decided to work with another promoter [in Matchroom] but being around him, promoting him, I admire him. I have to. There’s no other way.
"If he picks [David] Benavidez, [David] Morrell, Charlo, [or] Munguia which I’d advocate towards because we haven’t seen a Mexican-Mexican fight since Barrera-Morales, Marquez, you know those fights are fire. I’d love to see something like that again … it all depends on Canelo."
