The feud between Canelo Alvarez and former promoter Oscar De La Hoya is hotter than ever.
De La Hoya, who promotes Jaime Munguia, Alvarez’s opponent on Saturday in Las Vegas, said in a recent interview with journalist Ariel Helwani that he will handle Alvarez hard during fight week.
And he did.
Speaking Wednesday at the final press conference before the fight, De La Hoya, standing at the podium, let the undisputed 168-pound champion have it as he sat near him on the podium.
‼️ Canelo Alvarez STANDS AND WALKS BEHIND Oscar De La Hoya in response to his comments at the final press conference before his fight with Jaime Munguia on Saturday night…
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– Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) May 1, 2024
“There were times when work wasn’t my top priority because of my mental health, which I neglected,” said De La Hoya, who worked with Alvarez from 2010 to 2020. for a long time”.
“But that doesn’t change the fact that Golden Boy built Canelo Alvarez. The company you have fought for for decades always has a name and that is mine. So let’s respect it a little.”
An angry Alvarez then began talking at the same time as De La Hoya but then continued.
“For Jaime, he’s always there to be great, like this Saturday night,” De La Hoya said. And this comes full circle for him. Remember when Jaime was 21 years old [he] volunteered to replace Triple-G (Gennadiy Golovkin) and Canelo failed two drug tests.
“Even though Jaime wasn’t allowed to realize his dream in 2018, on Saturday night he will do just that, realize his dream and become world champion.”
‼️ Canelo Alvarez criticizes Oscar De La Hoya after their confrontation at the final press conference before his fight with Jaime Munguia on Saturday night: “He’s a bastard. F***ing p***y . Fuck* **uh.”
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– Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) May 1, 2024
Alvarez stood up from his chair and walked toward De La Hoya and the two exchanged words, including insults. Alvarez repeated in Spanish, “You don’t know anything.”
Alvarez later let De La Hoya keep it when asked what he said to De La Hoya during the exchange. He replied in English.
“He was a——, that’s what I said,” Alvarez said. “He is—is——. He tries to give attention to himself and not to Munguia. He is—is——. He steals his fighter, that’s what he does. … F—ing p—-, f—–.”
De La Hoya was clearly upset when Alvarez refused to deal directly with him in negotiations for Saturday’s fight, which will be streamed on DAZN pay-per-view.
He said on Helwani’s “MMA Hour” that he would “tell the truth” during fight week, which presumably means the press conference.
“I will wait until game week and I will compete hard. I will talk like there is no tomorrow. Do you know how much he talked about me? I have everything.”
He continued: “The truth [is] Canelo only had two options – Munguia or undefeated super middleweight champion David Benavidez – so he probably thought, ‘Okay, s—, they’ve got me cornered. Let me choose Munguia’
“You look at Canelo. The decline happened slowly. You can see the wear and tear. So this could be De La Hoya-[Julio Cesar] Chavez again. It happens in sports all the time. I will tell the truth.”
Boxingscene.com asked Alvarez to respond to De La Hoya’s comments during Tuesday’s meeting.
“I really don’t care,” he told the outlet. “I’m happy. I don’t really care about Oscar. He has s— in his head. I don’t think… what he said.”
Alvarez tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol ahead of his fight with Golovkin scheduled for May 2018 in Las Vegas.
The Mexican star was suspended for six months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, forcing the fight against his opponent to September next year.
Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) will make his seventh defense since winning his first two (of four) super middleweight titles by knocking out Callum Smith in December 2020.
He lost to 175-pound titleholder Dmitry Bivol during that stretch but has since won three straight, although he had uneven performances against Golovkin and John Ryder before looking sharp than in a one-sided win over Jermell Charlo last September.
Munguia (43-0, 34 KOs) is a former 154-pound champion who will compete for the 168-pound title for the first time.
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