Via Sam Volz: Golden Boy Promotion boss Oscar De La Hoya said the promoter of last Saturday’s event made it “The stupidest act” by pitting Canelo Alvarez against Dmitry Bivol for his WBA light heavyweight title.
De La Hoya didn’t come out and name the promoter he was talking about, but it appears he was referring to Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn, who put the Canelo vs Bivol fight together.
Canelo (57-2-2, 39 KOs) is a push to 175th, daring to go great in hopes of becoming the undisputed two-division champion after achieving that feat at 168th.
De La Hoya, who once encouraged Canelo, said he needed to get back into the 168-lb division and defend against Gennadiy Golovkin in a three-part match. De La Hoya predicts Canelo will win against Golovkin and return to the top of the world.
De La Hoya doubts Canelo will take on Bivol in a rematch in his next fight. What De La Hoya suggests is for Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) to defend his 175-lb WBA against his boxer Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirezwho’s headlines tonight against Dominic Boesel (32-2, 12 KOs) during the World Boxing Association knockout match at Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.
“The fact that the promoter of this event pushed Bivol into Canelo, that is dumbest move in boxing history“De La Hoya said to USA Today. “He doesn’t know boxing.
“It was the stupidest move. Whoever allows Canelo to fight Bivol, I will never allow Canelo to fight Bivol,” De La Hoya said.
It’s unclear how De La Hoya will play against Canelo if he’s still his promoter. The Mexican star has received more criticism from fans for fighting Golovkin after turning 35 than when he was younger.
In addition, fans also gave Canelo enthusiasm for not fighting David Benavidez and Demetrius Andrade, two fighters who fought in the same weight category as him. Will De La Hoya object to the idea of Canelo fighting them?
“Look at exactly what happened. Canelo is on top of the world,” said De La Hoya. “He is the king. Why fight that one man if Canelo fights ten times, he loses ten times? And he has nothing to gain. There is nothing to win. No one knows Bivol. ”
De La Hoya incorrectly gave Canelo a decisive vote of confidence on his chances of winning the rematch against Bivol.
Of course, many believe that Canelo will not trigger the rematch clause to rematch Bivol. Instead, he will follow the route De Hoya suggested to the Mexican star, returning to the 168-lb division to face 40-year-old Golovkin.
“I didn’t get a rematch offer,”Dmitry Bivol said this week about the fight with Canelo for the second time. “In the rematch, I can see things and let them work in my favor. I can’t say if I’ll take him down. ”
