Written by: Shawn Cross
“I think it’s great that Canelo Alvarez is back to his roots,” Oscar De La Hoya said in a recent interview. combat center video. “I think it’s special. I think it’s great.” While he may seem happy that former sweetheart Canelo will be making his homecoming game in Mexico this spring, De La Hoya makes it clear in the video that he is unimpressed with the choice of Canelo’s opponent, John Ryder. “As far as the opposition is concerned, I’m not sure exactly what direction he wants to go,” says De La Hoya.
Although there is no doubt that Hall of Famer De La Hoya knows Canelo well (having been Canelo’s promoter) he is clearly not afraid of criticizing his former fighter. He says of Canelo: “It seems like he’s holding back inside the ring, he’s holding back in terms of picking opponents. He’s fighting all these British fighters, but he’s doing nothing for his legacy. I don’t know whose fault that is.” While it’s true that Canelo has fought his share of Englishmen, such as Amir Khan, Callum Smith, and Bill Joe Saunders, the future Hall of Famer has more recently fought the likes of Dmitry Bivol, Caleb Plant, and Gennady Golovkin respectively.
However, De La Hoya points out combat center Video believes Canelo could face more quality opposition. He says: “I don’t want to mention anything, but I think Canelo has to analyze carefully who he wants to fight next, whether it’s Bivol, or whether it’s Mungia (by the way, De La Hoya is promoting), but he has to step up and fight the strong opposition, The tough guys, the guys out there who can fight him. He’s not the John Ryder in the world.”
As for De La Hoya himself, the man has his hands full at the moment promoting what is likely to be the biggest fight in years – Gervonta Davis’ upcoming throw with De La Hoya’s fighter, Ryan Garcia. Indeed, Davis-Garcia represents something of a changing of the guard in boxing, as a new generation prepares to take over the graphic wheel. However, until proven otherwise, Canelo remains one of the biggest names in the entire fighting game.
For his part, De La Hoya was undoubtedly a fighter who took one challenge after another throughout his in-ring career. There’s a reason De La Hoya has made himself one of the sport’s biggest names for years. The question, of course, is whether his criticism of Canelo was objective or based on his disagreement with his former student.
