NEW YORK – Oscar De La Hoya paid his fair share of sanctioning fees during his decade-plus run at boxing’s elite level.

As a six-division champion and longtime promoter, “The Golden Boy” understands the value of owning world titles or challenging champions for IBF, WBA, WBC and/or WBO belts. Those titles often give leverage to boxers who otherwise wouldn’t have any.

De La Hoya nevertheless realizes that there are entirely too many fighters who can call themselves world champions as part of the four-belt system that has been recognized within the sport’s establishment for more than 25 years. There theoretically could be at least 68 male boxers who could own world titles simultaneously – four apiece in 17 divisions that range from strawweight (105 pounds) to heavyweight.

Once you factor in “super,” interim and secondary champions, that number could easily exceed 80 at any given time. Each of The Ring’s nine male champions hold at least an IBF, WBA, WBC and/or WBO belt. Seven Ring championships remain vacant.

A recently announced promotional collaboration between Turki Alalshikh, who owns The Ring, and TKO Group Holdings Inc. will eventually crown one champion in each division as part of its endeavor. The leadership team of that company will include WWE president Nick Khan and UFC CEO and president Dana White.

De La Hoya respects the overall vision of anyone who wants to crown one champion per division, but the Hall-of-Fame fighter feels there is another way to go about consolidating titles.

“They always ask me, ‘How did the UFC do it?,’ ” De La Hoya told The Ring, an outlet he sold to Alalshikh last fall. “The UFC did it by acquiring an asset that was obviously a fractured asset, but [it] had no baggage whatsoever. Meaning all the baggage we have forever, where you’re accustomed to [the multiple-belt system]. People are accustomed to the WBA, the WBC, IBF. I think, ideally, to unconfuse the consumer, to unconfuse the fan, who’s the champion, this and that, I think there always have to be rivalries. So, I wouldn’t mind seeing two belts. I wouldn’t mind seeing The Ring champion and the WBC, or the WBA, whichever one.

“Because when you have competition, when you have a champion and a champion, then, you know, this champion is working towards his career, he’s building his legacy, his persona, whatever, his image. And then this guy here is doing the same. But when they clash and come together, you can create a mega-event. So, I think if two belts can co-exist together, it wouldn’t be too confusing for the general public, for the fight fan. I think that might work.”

Two boxers De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions represents, Ryan Garcia and Arnold Barboza Jr., will fight for WBA and WBO titles, respectively Friday night in New York’s Times Square.

Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs, 1 NC), of Victorville, California, and Rolando “Rolly” Romero (16-2, 13 KOs) will fight for the WBA’s secondary “world” welterweight title. Garcia-Romero is the 12-round main event of The Ring’s “FATAL Fury: City of the Wolves” show DAZN will distribute on pay-per-view ($59.99 in the United States).

Barboza (32-0, 11 KOs), of El Monte, California, will challenge Teofimo Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) for the Brooklyn native’s Ring and WBO junior welterweight titles. Barboza is The Ring’s No. 3 contender for Lopez’s championship.

Their 12-round, 140-pound championship match will be the second of four pay-per-view fights Friday night.