Canelo Alvarez almost got physical with Oscar De La Hoya at a press conference when their legal dispute spilled over into a physical one.
In 2020, Canelo Alvarez launched a $280 million lawsuit against Oscar De La Hoya and his Golden Boy Promotions.
The world champion argued that the promoter was in breach of contract, accusing De La Hoya of failing to deliver on guaranteed payments.
Canelo sued them for $280 million in losses, just two years after penning a massive $365 million contract to fight under their banner for the next 11 fights.
He accused the promotion of failing to plan his fights for 2020, despite the global pandemic affecting all sports, as the Super Middleweight champion went over a year without fighting during his prime years.
While the matter was settled outside of court, it almost spilled over into physical violence at the press conference for Canelo’s fight with Jaime Munguia years later.
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Canelo Alvarez and Oscar De La Hoya almost came to blows at a press conference
The bad blood between the two men continued for years after the lawsuit, culminating in a scuffle at the press conference before Canelo’s fight with Jaime Munguia in 2024.
Both men had spoken about the others in the press in the years since their fallout, and De La Hoya stoked the fires of their rivalry by immediately proclaiming that the fight would be a “changing of the guard of Mexican boxing” as he predicted Munguia would beat his fellow Mexican.
He added that Golden Boy Promotions “built Canelo Alvarez” and demanded that he respect De La Hoya’s name.
“He has spent much of the last two months insulting me rather than promoting this fight. Yes, I’ve faced a lot of challenges in my life.
“Yes, I’ve been to rehab several times. And yes, there were times when work was not my priority based on my mental health, which I neglected for so long.
“But that doesn’t change the fact that Golden Boy built Canelo Alvarez. Period. The company you fought under for decades has always had one name, and it’s mine… so put some f—— respect on it.”
Canelo began to talk back to De La Hoya before leaping to his feet to address the legendary fighter face-to-face.
Security quickly broke up the scuffle, and the pair didn’t come to blows, although who knows what would have happened had there not been people between the two boxing greats.
Who would win a fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Canelo Alvarez
De La Hoya was retired by Manny Pacquiao years before Canelo became a top-level fighter, so the idea of a dream match between the two is unfortunately impossible.
However, the idea of a fight between the two greats, especially since their presser face-off, is one that boxing fans wish they could have seen in both men’s primes.
If the fight were to occur, it would certainly be a close one. Canelo is an excellent defensive fighter while boasting impressive power, who would confuse De La Hoya with his impressive combinations.
However, Golden Boy had incredible speed and footwork like Canelo has never seen before in his prime, with a longer reach and fantastic boxing IQ that made him a menace against even top-level fighters.
It would be a close one that could go either way, but I’m inclined to hand the victory to Canelo if they did face off in this dream fight.