Oscar De La Hoya Acquire Undefeated Middleweight Prospect
Golden Boy Promotions announced today the signing of 24-year-old middleweight prospect Eric Priest (9-0, 7 KOs).
“I am beyond thrilled to have the opportunity to begin fighting under the Golden Boy banner. I’m ready to make noise in the middleweight division and believe Golden Boy is the right promotion to stand beside me on my way to the top. I believe I was born for this.”
“Eric Priest was the most sought out prospect middleweight. With massive, crossover star potential and the boxing talent to match, everyone was hungry to sign him and I am incredibly humbled that he chose Golden Boy,” said Chairman and CEO Oscar De La Hoya. “Priest has the bravado and the hunger to be a noisemaker in the division and is a potential world champion in the making. We are excited to have him join Golden Boy.”
Priest joins the promotional company with an impressive toolkit and massive crossover star potential. He turned pro in 2020 with 60+ fights in his amateur career and the accolades to match; including winning first place in the 2017 Kansas Golden Gloves tournament and becoming a two-time Ringside World Championships finalist.
A boxer-puncher with explosive, fast hands, he has trained with the likes of Gabriel Rosado, Israil Madrimov, Janibek Alimkhanuly, Tim Tzyu, and Raul Curiel – to name a few.
Priest began boxing at 10-years-old when he found himself in a number of street fights as a young child with his brother.
His father, who was in the military, taught him how to throw a punch and was the first person to bring him to a boxing gym. Today, he is trained by Pedro Neme, Jr. and Eddie Autry at Churchill Boxing Club in Santa Monica.
An official adidas-sponsored athlete and former part-time model signed to the Wilhelmina agency, he hopes to make noise in the middleweight division and mark his own path in the sport.