SEATTLE - The bell hasn't rung yet, but Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez is already exchanging jabs ahead of his fight against Jaime Munguía. The current opponent, however, is not his boxing opponent, but his former promoter Oscar De La Hoya.
In their latest exchange at the fight's press conference, De La Hoya and "Canelo" almost got into it and had to be separated. The issue started when De La Hoya read a statement in which he accused Álvarez of "spending the last two months insulting me, rather than promoting this fight." He went on to say that Álvarez should show more respect towards Golden Boy Promotions, a company that promoted "Canelo" for more than a decade.
"I would be remiss if I didn't respond to the man I used to promote," De La Hoya said in his statement. "He seems to have trouble remembering who helped him become a true global star," De La Hoya added.
WARNING: This video contains strong language which may be offensive to some viewers.
Oscar dela Hoya wastes no time disrespecting Canelo at the final press conference. #CaneloMunguia
— Premier Boxing Champions (@premierboxing) May 1, 2024
Watch now: https://t.co/j02rZGbrUB pic.twitter.com/BHaPtZqmM8
But he didn't stop there. De La Hoya went on to reference Canelo's positive test for banned substance Clenbuterol ahead of his rematch against Gennady Golovkin in 2018. As tensions rose, Álvarez countered by warning others who fight under the umbrella of Golden Boy Promotions to "contact your lawyers because he is surely stealing from you."
The undisputed super middleweight champion got up from his chair and confronted De La Hoya, continuing the attack with insults in Spanish. Before getting separated, Álvarez told De La Hoya that "If I hadn't involved my lawyers, you would've stolen from me."
After spending years as the face of Golden Boy Promotions, the relationship between Canelo and De La Hoya had a nasty breakup.
In 2020, Álvarez filed a lawsuit against Golden Boy Promotions and its broadcast partner, DAZN, alleging breach of contract after Canelo agreed to an 11-fight, $365 million deal with DAZN. The Mexican undisputed champion was seeking $280 million in damages. The parties settled the lawsuit and Golden Boy released Álvarez from his contract.
Following the encounter between the two at the press conference, De La Hoya issued a cease-and-desist letter on May 2 to Álvarez, arguing that Canelo's remarks that Golden Boy Promotions stole money from other fighters were "defamatory allegations."
According to reports from ESPN's Mike Coppinger, the letter demands that Canelo issues a retraction and refrain from making further defamatory comments towards De La Hoya and his company.
The press conference on May 1 was the first time that both boxing figures shared the same stage since Canelo's exit from Golden Boy Promotions in 2019. They say that time mends all wounds, but in this case, the wounds have just gotten deeper.
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