As fight fans are aware, Oscar De La Hoya and Canelo Alvarez parted ways some time back, the two falling out both professionally and personally. Since the split, the two have exchanged some pretty nasty insults; with De La Hoya, in another swipe at Canelo, recently stating how, in his opinion, Canelo has lowered the quality of opposition he fights; this a dig at Canelo’s upcoming fight with John Ryder.
However, Oscar the promoter has not ruled out the possibility of working again with Canelo one day in the future. Such a rekindling of star power seems unlikely, but as De La Hoya said when speaking on the DAZN Boxing Show, “you never know in boxing.”
“I think that if the opportunity presents itself, you never know in boxing,” De La Hoya said when asked if he would ever again work with the superstar he once promoted. “Outside the ring we have the knowledge, the expertise, we’re promoters that know what we’re doing. Imagine Canelo coming back to Golden Boy for a mega-fight, that would be an event in itself. I wish Canelo all the best, he is building his legacy and I want him to have this major fights to continue building his legacy because he’s at the tail-end of his career. Now he has an injury on his hand and who knows how he’s going to perform when he fights, but you want to know as a fighter when you have those last fights in your career, you want to make the best of it, you want to fight the very best.”
Speaking of wanting to fight the very best, Canelo says he will rematch Dmitry Bivol later this year (assuming of course he beats Ryder) – and at 175 pounds once again. De La Hoya sees only one winner here.
“Look, styles make fights and I’ve always said a Canelo style would never beat a Bivol style,” Oscar said. “It’s written on stone.”
Canelo, if he hears what his former promoter had to say about his chances in a Bivol return, may well feel yet more anger and dislike towards his former friend and promoter. But is Oscar right, is Bivol always going to be all kinds of wrong for Canelo? Would De La Hoya be looking to put Canelo in different fights if he was still working with Alvarez today? Canelo is his own boss, though, as we know.
What’s more likely: Canelo working with De La Hoya again, or Canelo getting revenge over Bivol?