By: Sean Crose
“I think it’s great that Canelo Alvarez returns to his roots,” Oscar De La Hoya said in a recent article. battle center videotapes. “I think it’s special. I think that’s a great thing.” While he seems happy that former favorite Canelo will play back to his homeland in Mexico this spring, De La Hoya makes it clear in the video that he is not impressed with Canelo’s selection of opponents, John Ryder. De La Hoya said: “On the opposite side, I’m not sure exactly which direction he wants to go.”
While there’s no doubt Hall of Famer De La Hoya knows Canelo quite well, (who used to be Canelo’s promoter), he’s clearly not afraid to criticize his former boxer. “It looks like he’s falling back inside the ring,” he said of Canelo, “he’s regressing in terms of opponent picking. He’s fighting all these British boxers, but that doesn’t help his legacy. I don’t know whose fault it is.” While it’s true that Canelo has fought with his fellow Brits, such as Amir Khan, Callum Smith and Bill Joe Saunders, the future Hall of Famer has also recently fought the likes of Dmitry Bivol, Caleb Plant and arch rival Gennady Golovkin.
However, De La Hoya points out in battle center videos where he feels Canelo could face more quality opposition. “I don’t want to mention anything,” he said, “but I think Canelo should really analyze carefully who he wants to fight next, whether it’s Bivol, or is it Mungia (By the way, De La Hoya happens to be promoting him), but he has to step up and fight the tough opposition, the hardliners, the guys out there who can give him a fight. That’s not the John Ryder of the world.”
As for De La Hoya himself, the man is busy at the moment promoting what could be the biggest fight in years – Gervonta Davis’ upcoming bout against De La Hoya’s own boxer, Ryan Garcia . Indeed, Davis-Garcia represents something of a guardian shift in boxing, as a new generation is poised to embrace the symbolic wheel. However, until proven otherwise, Canelo remains one of the biggest names in the entire fighting game.
For his part, De La Hoya is definitely a fighter who has taken on challenge after challenge throughout his career in the ring. There’s a reason why De La Hoya himself has been one of the sport’s biggest names for years. The question, of course, is whether his criticisms of Canelo are objective or based on him being at odds with his former patron.
