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Canelo Álvarez and Oscar De La Hoya erupt in heated exchange ahead of title bout with Jaime Munguía

ryan young
Staff writer
·3 min read
257
Canelo Álvarez stormed up and confronted Oscar De La Hoya on Wednesday afternoon in Las Vegas.
Canelo Álvarez stormed up and confronted Oscar De La Hoya on Wednesday afternoon in Las Vegas. (Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy/Getty Images)

Things got very heated on Wednesday in Las Vegas.

Canelo Álvarez and Oscar De La Hoya had to be separated at a news conference ahead of Álvarez's title fight against Jaime Munguía this weekend. De La Hoya, when addressing reporters at a podium, started taking very clear shots at Álvarez, who used to fight under his Golden Boy Promotions company. Álvarez clearly didn’t take that well.

Warning: The video contains language that is NSFW.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t respond to the man I used to promote,” De La Hoya said, in part. “He seems to have trouble remembering who helped him become a true global star. To be clear, I have nothing but respect for Canelo Álvarez as a fighter. His record and abilities speak for themselves, but he has spent much of the last two months insulting me, rather than promoting this fight … The company you fought under for decades has always had one name, and it’s mine. So put some f***ing respect on it.”

After shouting at De La Hoya and insulting him in Spanish from his seat, Álvarez stormed up and confronted him. The two had to be separated, and De La Hoya then walked back to his seat and sat down.

Warning: The video contains language that is NSFW.

“He insulted me, and I don’t want to permit that,” Álvarez said after the press conference ended. “I will [punch him]. If he comes closer, I’d f*** him … He’s a f***ing a****le. He tried to steal money from the fighters … He tried to steal my money from me … He’s a f***ing a****le. He don’t care about his fighters because he tried to bring all the attention to him.”

Álvarez spent years fighting with Golden Boy Promotions and De La Hoya. He was released from his deal with them in 2020, however, after he filed a lawsuit against De La Hoya alleging a breach of contract. The split, clearly, has been tumultuous and is incredibly contentious even years later.

Álvarez, the undisputed super middleweight champion, holds a 60-2-2 record with 39 KOs headed into Saturday’s fight against Munguía. His last win came against Jermell Charlo in September. Munguía enters Saturday’s fight with a perfect 43-0 record with 34 KOs. He beat John Ryder via a TKO earlier this year, and he fights under Golden Boy with De La Hoya.

While the bout at T-Mobile Arena is between Álvarez and Munguía, it's clear that Álvarez is taking De La Hoya's involvement personally.