Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag: GBP/Top Rank’s “PBC” Lawsuit, Mayweather WBO Title Strip, & More!

07/09/201507/09/2015 Vivek Wallace

Gerald N. (Delray Beach, FL): Both Top Rank and Goldenboy Promotions have initiated lawsuits against Al Haymon and the “Premier Boxing Champions” movement. What are your thoughts and what light can you shed on whether or not these lawsuits hold any weight?

Vivek W. (ESB): At this stage, I think it’s far too early to really know or accurately say “how much weight” the separate lawsuits hold. There’s been a ton of information released, but with respect and integrity for the lawsuits independently, there’s still a ton of things we as fans and media simply don’t know. From the outside looking in, my position all along has been that it’s an uphill battle for the parties pursuing matters, for the simple fact that the man being pursued (Al Haymon) has the absolute allegiance of every fighter on his roster, and each and every last one of them has his back with total support.

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Oscar De La Hoya Says ‘No Comeback’

06/30/201506/29/2015 Olly Campbell

After much media speculation over his public indecision and desire to stage a return to the ring at the age of 42, former 6 weight world champ and modern great Oscar De La Hoya has finally decided to officially rule out the idea, releasing a statement via his official Facebook account that should finally put paid to any further gossip in relation to any potential in-ring resurrection.

The “Golden Boy”, who now enjoys his position as CEO of his eponymous promotional company, said;

“Over the last 6 months I’ve had a front row seat as Golden Boy fighters including Canelo Alvarez, Bernard Hopkins, Lucas Matthysse, Jorge Linares and David Lemieux have stepped into the ring and shown what boxing should all be about – a commitment to fight the best, respect the sport and put the fans first.”

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Hatton Warns De La Hoya Against Comeback / Doesn’t Want To See Him Hurt

06/24/2015 Olly Campbell

Three years ago he made a brief and ill-fated comeback of his own against Vyacheslav Senchenko, so perhaps former British world champion Ricky Hatton is perfectly placed to offer advice to old friend Oscar De La Hoya on the pitfalls of such a plan?

With De La Hoya seemingly still conflicted and publicly considering the idea, Hatton has spoken to Sky Sports to say that while he isn’t really surprised, he thinks De La Hoya could be potentially flirting with disaster.

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De La Hoya Now 50/50 On Comeback

06/23/2015 Olly Campbell

If British super middleweight Carl Froch is the will he/won’t he retire guy, then Mexican-American modern great and Hall of Fame inductee Oscar De La Hoya is fast becoming the will he/won’t he come back guy – with another new twist in the saga emerging from multiple sources that are quoting the Golden Boy as saying that any comeback is now 50/50.

After being linked to a potential fight with Kazakh puncher Gennady Golovkin and also a rematch with Floyd Mayweather, De La Hoya took to Instagram to quash those rumours – however, it is looking like the now 42 year old Oscar has had something of a change of heart.

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Oscar De La Hoya Focusing On Cotto v Canelo / Dismissive Over ‘Comeback’

06/08/201506/07/2015 Olly Campbell

After Miguel Cotto’s dominating and destructive performance against Daniel Geale last night in New York, one man rubbing his hands together was Golden Boy chief Oscar De La Hoya, who has told fighthype.com that he is now fully focused on putting together the ‘super fight’ between the Puerto Rican ace and his fighter – Mexican Box Office draw, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez – a clash that is all but a done deal in principle anyway.

Thankfully for the concerned parties, Geale was unable to take the shine of the mooted clash between the two stars – which would have had taken a hit at least financially should the Australian have pulled off the upset.

Speaking post-fight of Cotto’s performance, Oscar said;

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James Kirkland Interview Transcript

04/27/2015 Golden Boy Promotions

Oscar De La Hoya – Thank you very much to all the press. We are excited to be on this conference call. We are more than just a little over a couple weeks away with Canelo-Kirkland which will be a 12-round super welterweight showdown. It would be and it should be an explosive night, one to remember, live from Minute Maid Park in Houston. Tickets are going extremely well. Tickets are still available, so I urge you to get your tickets fast as we expect a sellout crowd.

I am extremely proud to be announcing that this event is being promoted by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Canelo Promotions and SMS Promotions and Leija Battah Promotions. I want to thank the sponsors as well: Corona Extra and Mexico-Live it to Believe it, Fred Loya Insurance and also O’Reilly Auto Parts. Thank you for your support.

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Cotto-Canelo fight off, says De La Hoya

01/17/2015 Rob Smith

The highly anticipated bout between WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez won’t be taking place, according to Golden Boy Promotions vice president Oscar De La Hoya. Instead, De La Hoya will be looking to match his fighter Canelo up against possibly middleweight David Lemieux or James Kirkland.

WBA 160 pound champion Gennady Golovkin’s name isn’t being talked about for Canelo.

“Oscar just told me no Cotto-Canelo. ‘The deal is off the table.’ Said Cotto went past 5th deadline last night. #boxing,” Dan Rafael of ESPN.com reported earlier today.

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Canelo determined to fight on May 2nd, says De La Hoya

01/05/2015 T.Baker

Former WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KOs) is doggedly determined to fight on the Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo, even if means that he won’t be facing WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32 KOs). The two fighters are still negotiating a fight for that date, but there’s no way of knowing if they’ll be able sign for the fight.

Canelo’s promoter Oscar de La Hoya says that Canelo will still be fighting on that date if the Cotto fight doesn’t happen. This means that unless Canelo gets a really good opponent to face him like James Kirkland or Gennady Golovkin, he’s not going to be able to bump Floyd Mayweather off the date.

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De La Hoya sees Canelo replacing Mayweather and Pacquiao as boxing’s top PPV star

12/28/2014 Jeff Sorby

Oscar De La Hoya, the President of Golden Boy Promotions, believes that his fighter Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KOs) will be the guy that takes the baton from Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao to replace them as boxing’s No.1 pay-per-view attraction once those two fighters retire.

It’s interesting that De La Hoya believes that the 24-year-old Canelo will be the guy that will be taking over as the top PPV star because there are many boxing fans who believe that he deserves to have three losses on his resume, not just one to Mayweather.

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De La Hoya eager to make Cotto-Canelo fight

12/27/2014 Rob Smith

While it’s looking like the May 2nd fight between WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez might not get made, Canelo’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions is still very eager with hope that the fight can still get made. De La Hoya believes the Cotto-Canelo fight is the second biggest fight that can be made behind only the Floyd Mayweather Jr vs. Manny Pacquiao fight.

De La Hoya believes that a fight between Canelo and Cotto will attract a lot of women. It’s unclear just how many women it would attract and why. Presumably, De La Hoya feels that the Cotto-Canelo fight would attract a lot of women because of the 24-year-old Canelo. However, if the women that the fight attracts don’t live in the United States then it really won’t matter that it’s attracting women, because the idea is for the fight to bring in a ton of pay-per-view buys on HBO.

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