Canelo Alvarez-De La Hoya Spat Heats up Ahead of Munguia Bout

Once partners in their collective reign over the boxing world, two of the all-time greatest fighters of Mexican heritage have been throwing haymakers at one another in anticipation of the sport's annual takeover of Las Vegas on Cinco de Mayo weekend. However, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Oscar De La Hoya aren't fighting each other in the ring on Saturday. Instead, they have been engaged in a particularly nasty war of words, years after Alvarez split from Golden Boy Promotions over claims that De La Hoya, the pugilist-turned-promoter, has been stealing money from fighters.

Alvarez, the undisputed super middleweight champion, is set to defend his belts against the undefeated Jaime Munguia, the latest wunderkind under the Golden Boy banner. Yet Munguia appears to be an afterthought on what is generally the busiest day in sports, the first Saturday in May.

Alvarez, who turned professional at the age of 15 in his native Mexico, signed with Golden Boy Promotions in 2010 after amassing an impressive record against largely unheralded talent. Canelo's ascension came at an interesting juncture for boxing, which had been looking for a new draw as the era of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao was coming to a close. In 2018, Alvarez signed what was then the biggest sports contract in history, an 11-fight, $385 million deal with DAZN, the sports streamer that was trying to make a dent in the United States as the destination for combat sports.

When the coronavirus pandemic put a pause to most live sports, it also presented an out for Alvarez. As boxing promoters started resuming fight cards in the second half of 2020, Alvarez, DAZN and Golden Boy debated over when his next fight would take place, the opponent, and the purse he'd take home. Eventually, Alvarez wanted out, claiming than an audit from his lawyers uncovered missing payouts. He filed a lawsuit in September of 2020, arguing that both streamer and promoter had breached their contracts with him.

Golden Boy and DAZN released Canelo from the deal two months later, but the potshots between the two camps have continued ever since. Alvarez frequently said De La Hoya's substance abuse had impacted business with the promotion.

On Wednesday, De La Hoya and Alvarez went nuclear on one another during the final press conference before the fight, bringing the same level of venom rap stars Kendrick Lamar and Drake are currently spewing at each other. After demanding that Alvarez "put some respect on his name," De La Hoya went off, claiming that his promotion built Canelo into one of the biggest stars in sports.

"Yes, I've been to rehab several times," De La Hoya said. "Yes, there were some really low points in my life. And yes, there were times that work was not my priority based on my mental health, which I had neglected for so long. But that doesn't change the fact that Golden Boy built Canelo over this period."

After lobbing a few expletives and slurs, Alvarez took the dais and retorted in Spanish, "This idiot, this [guy] here to my left, try not to forget that I was already 'Canelo' when I came to the United States and that he only profited from my name."

Alvarez continued: "He never lost a single cent, but instead made money. Have you already paid (Gennady) Golovkin what you wanted to steal from him?" That barb referred to a 2018 lawsuit Golovkin filed against Golden Boy over payments from the final fight of his trilogy against Alvarez. (Both sides settled, and De La Hoya said Golovkin was paid in full.)

Alvarez and De La Hoya aren't going to break bread any time soon, especially after De La Hoya followed through with a legal threat on Thursday morning by sending a cease-and-desist letter to Canelo's camp, demanding Alvarez retract allegedly defamatory statements about him.

For what it's worth, Canelo's not hurting for cash—the 33-year-old has earned over a half billion dollars in the ring. On Saturday, Alvarez will fighting Munguia, not De La Hoya. The two combatants have been largely respectful of one another, but it wouldn't be a surprise if Canelo envisions De La Hoya's face on Munguia's body in the ring.