Oscar De La Hoya has some colorful words of advice for Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Sort of.
Things almost got out of hand between the pair of boxing greats at a pre-fight press conference in May 2024. It wasn’t ahead of a fight between the two, of course, but Canelo and De La Hoya’s fighter, Jaime Munguia. Canelo won the match via a unanimous decision that extended his winning streak to four (61-2-2).
It was recently announced that Riyadh Season partnered with Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank. Canelo will return to the boxing ring against Edward Berlanga on September 14, 2024. However, the Mexican legend had no interest in cooperating with Riyadh Season head, Turki Alalshikh, prompting De La Hoya to highlight the mistakes being made in his opinion.
“Guess what time it is? Time for your new favorite five minutes of the week, ‘Clapback Thursdays,’” De La Hoya said in an X video. “This actually might be my favorite one so far. So it turns out I’m not the only one who thinks Canelo is an arrogant piece of sh*t. Turki Alalshikh recently revealed that Canelo refused to meet with him in person and isn’t entertaining any deals to be done with him. Why? Because he’s outpriced himself so much that the Saudis don’t even want to deal with him.
“It’s all because he will do anything not to fight David Benavidez,” he continued. “Look, Turki is trying to make the best fights that everybody wants to see, and Canelo continues to take the fights that nobody wants to see. That takes me to Edgar Berlanga, who is fighting Canelo on September 14. Now, he claims he has a whole country behind him. Edgar, bro, you’re from Brooklyn. I think I’m more Puerto Rican than you are, and I only lived there for six years. Puerto Rico doesn’t claim you, bro.”
The overall message shouldn’t come as a surprise from De La Hoya, who has happily gotten into back-and-forth with his fellow combat sports names in the past, including UFC CEO, Dana White. Therefore, hearing De La Hoya siding with UFC and the Noche UFC event in this case just shows how much he despises Canelo.
“As I said weeks ago, this fight will not do well on September 14,” De La Hoya said. “Not only because the match up is okay, but because they’re going up against the UFC’s debut at The Sphere in Las Vegas. Now, that’s a spectacle that everyone and their mother has been waiting to see since it opened up about a year ago. And who is funding it and making it all happen? Turki Alalshikh.
“Canelo, you’re really making the wrong enemies. But you know what? F*ck you,” he concluded.