Rising lightweight star Ryan Garcia could be featured in a July 4 card with no fans in attendanceGETTY IMAGES
Golden Boy Promotions is "hopeful to put on its first show on July 4 with rising lightweight star Ryan Garcia in the main event," but Golden Boy President Eric Gomez "acknowledged that there is a lot of work to be done" before any plans are made, according to Dan Rafael of BOXING SCENE. Gomez said, "We envision shows without fans and, at some point, with fans, but what the specifications are for a return to shows with fans I don't know. We don't know if that will be this year or not, but we'll have to follow whatever the guidelines are from federal government, state government." Gomez said that he has "spoken to executives from state athletic commissions in California, Nevada, Texas and Arizona, all of whom are formulating rules for how boxing can return amid the pandemic, although none have anything set in stone." Gomez "did not rule out the possibility of even four-division world titlist Canelo Alvarez, Golden Boy's No. 1 fighter and the arguably the pound-for-pound king, fighting behind closed doors even though his fights routinely generate millions of dollars in ticket sales." Gomez: "We're going to discuss it and start having talks about it with DAZN, with Canelo, with everybody involved. If it's something Canelo would approve and he's up for it, and we can make it work for everyone involved, we're going to do it (BOXINGSCENE.com, 5/12).
