Oscar De La Hoya reveals surprising mistake he made with Donald Trump during president-elect's first term

Oscar De La Hoya is willing to admit a mistake when it comes to Donald Trump .

He was never a die-hard supporter, like rival promoter Don King. Conversely, boxing's Golden Boy never hated the president-elect like promoter Bob Arum still does nearly 35 years after their infamous financial dispute in Atlantic City.

But De La Hoya admittedly erred in 2017 with an ad showing Mexico's Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. running through Trump's proposed border wall at a time when the 45th President was being vilified over the immigration controversy.

Speaking ahead of Saturday's Riyadh Season Latino Night, a major fight card airing for free on DAZN , De La Hoya concedes the ad 'drew more eyes to the show,' but no longer feels like the right decision.

'I kind of regret it in a way,' De La Hoya told DailyMail.com in a remote interview from his hotel in Riyadh . 'At the time I had this political figure in my circle that kind of convinced me to do it.'

These days, De La Hoya isn't a Trump critic so much as he's a cheerleader for whomever is running the country: 'Whether it was gonna be Kamala [Harris], whether it was gonna be Trump, whether it was gonna be anybody, I want America to thrive. That's it.'

Besides, he and Trump share a strategic ally in the Saudi government, which has increasingly come to dominate boxing thanks to the investments of royal court advisor Turki Alalshikh — the man De La Hoya and many others refer to as 'His Excellency.'

In fact, De La Hoya explained, it was 'His Excellency' who wanted Saturday's 'pay-per-view-worthy' fight card to be free on DAZN, where fans should get a more legitimate display than Friday's Jake Paul-Mike Tyson bout on Netflix .

In an intriguing main event, Mexico's Gilberto 'Zurdo' Ramirez (46-1) will face Great Britain's Chris Billam-Smith (20-1) for the WBA-WBO unification at cruiserweight — an often overlooked division.

'It's a very interesting division because they're not quite heavyweights,' De La Hoya said of fighters between 175 and 200 pounds. 'They're not middleweights where they're throwing a lot of punches.

'What excites me about this fight is that Zurdo fights like a middleweight in this division,' he continued. 'He throws a lot of punches, and he hits like a mule, and he's motivated.

'So Is Billam-Smith. I mean, he's a fighter who's very active.'

And the undercard is nearly as impressive, with Jose Ramirez (29-1) facing top super lightweight contender Arnold Barboza Jr. (30-0) with the winner getting a potential blockbuster bout with Ryan Garcia when his drug suspension ends in April of 2025.

Ramirez and Barboza had circled each other for years while they were both with Arum at Top Rank, but now that they're with De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, they're finally stepping in the ring together.

'I do take pride in that,' De La Hoya said of organizing Barboza-Ramirez. 'I mean, look, Gold bless Bob Arum and Top Rank. I've always said they're probably the number one promoter in the world just because of Bob's history, Bob's intelligence and how he knows to cultivate talent.

'He's known for his great eye, but you know, there's times where he has a few slip-ups. And fortunately I was able to make this happen.'

Then there are elite lightweights William Zepeda (31-0) and Tevin Farmer (33-6-1) squaring off for the interim WBC title, as well as Oscar Duarte (27-2-1) facing Botirzhon Akhmedov (10-3) at 140 pounds.

There's even a WBO world minimum title bout between two undefeated fighters in Oscar Collazo (10-0) and Thammanoon Niyomtrong (25-0).

Although Zudro's fight with Billam-Smith is technically the main event, De La Hoya concedes nearly any bout could end up stealing the show Saturday in Riyadh.

'That's the bottom line from top to bottom,' De La Hoya said. 'You have world-class fighters, even matchups. That's just what it should be.

'We can easily make that pay-per-view.'

Of course, it isn't pay-per-view, and therein lies the real star of Saturday's card in Riyadh.

In an era where far too many fight cards fall into the premium category, De La Hoya and Alalshikh are making a peace offering to frustrated fans.

'Me, I'm the biggest boxing fan and I love the sport,' De La Hoya said. 'I love watching every single fight, but there's times where I have my remote control and... ''Should I watch it or should I not?''

'You know, pay-per-view cards must be pay-per-view worthy.'

And the fact that this card follows a night of 'influencer boxing' is no accident.

There's certainly more buzz around Netflix's Tyson-Paul, but there's always the risk that the spectacle of a 58-year-old fighting a YouTuber turns off some casual fans.

That's not to say De La Hoya is impervious to Tyson-Paul's appeal.

He's admittedly interested to see Katie Taylor's rematch with Amanda Serrano, who lost their first meeting by split decision in 2022. But beyond that, he's mostly rooting for Tyson to avoid serious injury.

'I love Tyson,' De La Hoya said. 'We're good friends... Obviously I do not want to see him get hurt because he is 58.'

De La Hoya thinks Tyson has a good chance to win, so long as he gets the knockout in the first few rounds before the 27-year-old Paul has a chance to exhaust him in the later frames.

But whatever the outcome on Friday, Saturday's Riyadh Season Latino Night is shaping up to be a much-needed chaser: A chance for pugilistic purists to watch champions and contenders who are both experienced boxers and under 50.

As De La Hoya said of Saturday's fight card in Saudi Arabia: 'It can be one of those events where it can hopefully attract more fans to the sport.'