Oscar De La Hoya's ongoing feud with Ryan Garcia isn't the only longstanding squabble the Golden Boy Promotions headman is involved in that's suddenly reaching new heights. The entry of Dana White's Zuffa Boxing into the business through a five-year media rights agreement with Paramount, and the push from TKO — the parent company of the WWE and White's UFC — for the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act have rekindled the rivalry between De La Hoya and White. 

The ex-boxer-turned-promoter told Uncrowned this week he believes TKO's efforts to support the controversial new boxing bill are rooted in "shady" intentions.

"The fact that a new entity is coming into boxing and already wants to change a bill that has been in place for decades that protects fighters, to me, is shady," De La Hoya said. "That's the bottom line. Think about it — it's shady. The first thing you want to do is change the law, change the rule, the Muhammad Ali Act, which protects the fighters. I instantly think about what they did with the UFC.

"I think for that fact alone, that they're trying to change the bill right off the bat, is shady."

De La Hoya and Matchroom Boxing's Eddie Hearn, among others, have highlighted the financial transparency offered by the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, which could be difficult for Zuffa to navigate. The piece of legislation, enacted in 2000, gives boxers the right to know how much revenue is coming into the event they are fighting on, including television rights fees and gate receipts. This gives headlining fighters an idea of whether they are being fairly compensated by their promoters and prevents them from being exploited or underpaid.

In the UFC, however, it is not uncommon for the majority of the revenue to go to the company rather than the talent. Fighters in the UFC are not aware of how much money an event makes because there is no Ali Act for MMA, and they are often thought to be under-compensated compared to boxers.

TKO's boxing business model is expected to mirror its efforts in the UFC, which could be problematic if boxers signed to the company realize they are receiving less revenue than the event promoter. For example, the financial value of Zuffa's media rights deal with Paramount has not been announced.

"There's total transparency with the bill," De La Hoya said of the 2000 Ali Act. "You're obligated as a promoter to disclose everything that might be in the pot. The fighters call it 'the pot' — you're obligated to disclose the financial status of your event, of the fighters' event. If you're a main-event fighter, a championship fighter, you have every right to look at the books. With this amendment, [Zuffa Boxing is] going to try and eliminate that, which is not fair. It reminds me of — I can instantly think about this fighter from UFC, [Ben] Askren, who had the double lung transplant and couldn't even get a surgery. He was a staple of the UFC for a while and can't even get [the] money to cover his hospital bill.

"Eventually he got it, but he got it through private friends or whatever you might call them. Jake Paul donated some money. Dana White, out of his own pocket, donated some money. To me, it's sad that it has to be that way. I instantly think about how the person [who's] trying to do right in the sport [wouldn't] try to eliminate a bill that is protecting the fighter, the product. The fighter is the product. I just think that without that rule there, without the clause there or wiping out the Muhammad Ali Act, the fighter is vulnerable."

TKO's backing of the Ali Revival Act has come under much criticism, with a host of ex-UFC fighters voicing their concerns about the act's passing and the monopolizing power it could hand TKO at a California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) meeting this past week. Despite that swell of opposition, the CSAC unanimously voted to support the proposed piece of legislation.

Under the bill, TKO would have the power to run a "Unified Boxing Organization" akin to how it runs the UFC. The company would be able to promote events, create its own belt and run its own ranking system. This would allow TKO to retain significant control over its boxing efforts and eliminate the need to work with other promoters or risk competition under purse bids.

"I mind them trying to screw fighters over, but I don't mind them coming [into boxing] because I don't really see it as competition," De La Hoya said. "I'm a serious promoter. I'm a promoter that's going to develop and promote world champions from the get-go. I'm going to identify prospects, and I'm going to build them just like the way I built [Saul] 'Canelo' [Alvarez], just like the way I built Ryan Garcia, just like the way I'm building all my champions now. It's step by step. I'm not going to get them beat and eliminated right off the bat. [Zuffa] is more like a reality show. It's more of a game show or something. I don't really see it as real boxing and competition.

"What I saw the week of the 'Canelo' [vs. Terence Crawford] fight, they tried doing some contender boxing stuff. You're having precious contenders who I know can become world champions three, four, five years down the road, they're getting eliminated and [beaten], and you're never going to hear from them again. That's not fair to the fighter. If that's fair business to them, more power to them. Let them build whatever league they're trying to build. It's OK. Boxing here is safe with me and Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren — the serious guys in the sport. The guys who respect the history and the honor that comes with it."

Zuffa's focus in boxing is expected to be matching lesser-known prospects and contenders against each other in competitive fights. White has also previously compared the plans for his boxing venture to the UFC's Contender Series feeding system, intending to find talent and create stars who will eventually appear on Turki Alalshikh's Riyadh Season and Ring Magazine shows.

"What I tell fighters is, if you're a kid from East L.A., if you're a kid from Brooklyn, if you're a kid from wherever, Cincinnati, where [Ray] 'Boom Boom' Mancini was from — the neighborhoods where champions are discovered — if you're that kid and you want to become a world champion, and you want to become a star and you want to become a household name, and you want to make a lot of money, the American dream, it's not going to be with them. It's just not."

Although De La Hoya and Hearn have temporarily put aside their rivalry to team up against White's entrance into the sport, battle lines could be drawn again early next year.

Jaron "Boots" Ennis, the former unified welterweight champion promoted by Hearn's Matchroom, called out Golden Boy's Vergil Ortiz Jr. after Ennis' opening-round destruction of Uisma Lima earlier this month.

"I want to see it," De La Hoya said of an Ennis bout with Ortiz Jr., who fights Erickson Lubin on Nov. 8.

"He wants to win [against Lubin]. He has to win for these talks [to fight Ennis] to continue."

[Yahoo Sports TV is here! Watch live shows and highlights 24/7]

Hearn declared earlier this year that his company and Golden Boy had agreed on a deal in principle to stage Ennis vs. Ortiz Jr. in early 2026 should both come through their interim fights. Ennis has since defeated Lima and signed his end of the agreement to face Ortiz. Now, Ortiz must get past Lubin and the respective parties have to agree on the finer details of what would be a marquee matchup in 2026.

Ennis and Ortiz have been in talks to meet on two occasions over the past year, but the matchup didn't materialize both times on Ennis' part. Boots initially chose not to move up to super welterweight to take the fight this past February, and when the bout was proposed for a second time, Ennis decided that he wanted a fight at super welterweight first before going full-bore against Ortiz. 

This time, however, there seems to be a real appetite to make the matchup happen from both sides.

"It didn't happen because Boots wanted a tune-up," De La Hoya explained. "Vergil was ready to fight Boots for over a year now, but Boots wanted a tune-up fight. I don't blame him. He wants to test the waters at 154, see if the punches are harder, see if the speed is faster, or the footwork is different. He didn't learn much from his last fight because the guy he fought didn't really teach him anything, but when he fights at 154 [pounds] and he fights a real fighter at 154, like Vergil Ortiz, it's going to be an amazing fight. I can't wait for it. I really can't. That fight here in the U.S. for U.S. boxing is incredible. It's a big stage.

"I back my guy 1,000%. Am I hesitating [about] making this fight? No, because I know Vergil. He wants to fight the best, he wants to be the best. I think this is the right moment to make the fight. Will it happen? I'm counting on Vergil to win in his next fight. I'm counting on Vergil to go out there and show the world who he really is. I think this fight here with Boots Ennis and Vergil Ortiz is a defining fight for both of their careers. Whoever wins that fight becomes a star."

Boxing on Yahoo! Sports – News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games