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Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya is not a fan of the recent trend in the squared circle, where YouTube celebrities are being allowed to use the sport of boxing as a vehicle to settle their rivalries.
In November, YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI settled their rivalry in the headline position of card being streamed by DAZN from Staples Center in Los Angeles. World champions like Devin Haney and Billy Joe Saunders were placed in undercard positions.
Next week, YouTubers Jake Paul and Ali Eson Gib will settle their dispute on the undercard of a show being staged in Miami, which is headlined by WBO middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade. DAZN will stream this event as well.
As BoxingScene.com recently reported, there were serious discussions to stage a fight on DAZN between Logan Paul and controversial NFL star Antonio Brown.
De La Hoya's company, Golden Boy Promotions, is fully aligned with DAZN and supports their business model.
But he does not support social media celebrities being allowed to secure boxing licenses and then using the sport to make money without putting in the years of dedication, time and effort of normal boxers - who begin training at a young age, go through the amateur system and then turn pro.
De La Hoya points out how fighters put their lives on the line and unfortunately boxers pass away from in-ring injuries every year.
“I’m from the old school breed and boxing is so dangerous and real that a lot of these YouTube guys are thinking that it’s a joke,” De La Hoya told Fight Hub TV. “It’s not a joke. This is real stuff. I mean this is life or death inside that ring.
“To become world champion is not easy. People put their lives on the line sometimes and so to make it kind of like a circus act is not pretty cool at all. It’s entertainment but it’s serious."
De La Hoya, who won Olympic gold and world titles in six divisions, believes these types of fights degrade the sport of boxing.
“Just a bit. It really does [degrade boxing]. I put all my life into this for somebody to come [into the sport] because he wants to fight, it just really doesn't make sense to me,” De La Hoya said.