boxing
Time has never healed the wounds between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Oscar De La Hoya.
Boxing's most high-profile rivalry exploded this week.
Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) will defend his undisputed super middleweight title against Jaime Munguia (43-0, 34 KOs) on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Munguia works for De La Hoya's promotional company, Golden Boy Promotions, and Alvarez and De La Hoya met this week at a pre-fight promotional event.
And it got ugly.
De La Hoya, the superstar and former boxer-turned-promoter, spoke out against Alvarez on Thursday over defamatory claims that Alvarez didn't properly pay his fighters, according to ESPN. A letter of suspension has been issued.
Alvarez, who was promoted from De La Hoya's company for 10 years before their split in 2020, claimed that De La Hoya stole money from fighters including Gennady Golovkin.
“Call your lawyer because he is definitely stealing money from you,” Alvarez said in a message to other fighters at Wednesday's Fight Week press conference. “That's the only thing he's trying to do in boxing. … If I hadn't gotten a lawyer involved, you would have stolen money from me.”
De La Hoya sparked a war of words by mentioning that Alvarez, who is under contract with Pro Boxing Champions, tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol ahead of his 2018 rematch with Golovkin, but Alvarez fired back with an accusation.
“[Alvarez] In a suspension letter obtained by ESPN, De La Hoya's attorney, Ricardo P. Setero, said he falsely accused Oscar with the express intent of warning other boxers not to do business with Oscar or Golden Boy. Stated.
“Clearly, Canelo defamed Oscar and Golden Boy internationally. Canelo's comments were also made with actual malice. …Oscar and Golden Boy will make sure Canelo learns his lesson. “We reserve all rights to sue Canelo for damages for these defamations, including punitive damages.”
Alvarez's attorney, Gregory M. Smith, told the outlet that after Alvarez parted ways with Golden Boy Promotions, he audited “payments and deductions under previous contracts” and found that there were outstanding payments.
“Court records show that Mr. Golovkin also audited Golden Boy and was found to have been underpaid,” Smith told ESPN. “GGG subsequently sued Golden Boy for the lost funds.”
De La Hoya said Wednesday that Golden Boy Promotions “raised” Alvarez and that the company always had “one name,” where it all started.
“It’s mine,” Ms. De La Hoya said. “So be respectful of that.”
Alvarez then responded with an expletive.
“He tried to steal the money. He's just King Ash,” Alvarez said. “That's what I said. He's a fucking king. He tried. [bring] Pay attention to him, not Munguia. He is King Ash. He steals from fighters.that's him [does]. Shit, king, mother, –r. ”
Alvarez is the heavy favorite for Saturday's fight.
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