Oscar De La Hoya Shares Theory On Why Canelo Alvarez Split From Golden Boy

Oscar De La Hoya has theorized why Canelo Alvarez made the decision to depart from Golden Boy Promotions.

De La Hoya and Canelo had a falling out, which led to a lawsuit that was settled out of court. Canelo ended up being granted his wish to explore other options as a free agent. As a result, he will challenge Callum Smith for the WBA (Super) Super-Middleweight Title on December 19 under Matchroom Boxing.

Appearing on SiriusXM Boxing and DAZN’s The Ak & Barak Show, De La Hoya said that while he isn’t clued in on why Canelo left from a promotional standpoint, he does have a theory.

“I til this moment cannot really figure out exactly what we did wrong as a promotional company because everything we do is by the book. Everything we do is at the highest level. Our track record speaks for itself. Aside from Top Rank, because they’ve been doing this for the longest time. They’ve been doing this forever. Aside from Top Rank and Bob Arum, who’s like the messiah of boxing, aside from them the only other promoter who can penetrate this U.S. market, the only other promoter who knows how to stage the biggest events possible is Golden Boy Promotions.

“I still do not know exactly what we did wrong, but I have an idea. In boxing, being an ex-fighter myself, I always had these whispers in my ear. ‘Oh, maybe the grass is greener on the other side. Maybe you should be earning more. Maybe this and that, maybe that and that,’ because fighters are very accessible. Fighters are not basketball players who are with the NBA who are locked in with agents. In boxing, you can get to any fighter you want. All you have to do is whisper to them and they’re gonna believe it.”