Canelo Álvarez will defend his undisputed super middleweight title this weekend against Jaime Mungia, but the fireworks started early on Wednesday. During the pre-fight press conference, Álvarez and former promoter Oscar De La Hoya got into a nasty confrontation and had to be separated from each other.
De La Hoya’s speech was essentially ripping Alvarez for his repeated attacks on Golden Boy Promotions and insults towards De La Hoya himself. Alvarez fired back at the end and the two men had to be separated. This is the result of a long-simmering feud between the two.
In 2020, after years of fighting under De La Hoya’s watch, Canelo sued Golden Boy and DAZN for breach of contract. He was seeking a minimum of $280 million. Alvarez believed the parties had breached the 11-fight, $365 million deal he had agreed to in 2018. The parties had disagreed over who the champion would face next and how much he would receive.
The parties settled the lawsuit and Golden Boy released Alvarez from his contract. It was still a nasty breakup that left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. Alvarez started his own promotion company in the aftermath.
Alvarez is 60-2-2 with his his only losses coming via decision against Floyd Mayweather in 2013 and Dmitry Bivol in 2022 when the Mexican superstar boldly tried to jump up to light heavyweight. Most recently, he dominated Jermell Charlo to earn a unanimous decision win in September.
On Saturday night, Alvarez will face Munguia, who is 43-0 with 34 knockouts on his resume. The 27-year-old scored a TKO win over John Ryder in January. Hopefully the fight lives up to the action from Wednesday’s press conference.
