Oscar De La Hoya’s statement on Canelo Alvarez leaving Golden Boy

By Boxing News - 11/07/2020 - Comments

By Jim Maltzman: Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya made a statement on Friday talking about superstar Canelo Alvarez parting ways with his company and DAZN. De La Hoya says Canelo’s lawsuit was taken care of, and he wishes him the best with the rest of his career.

On Friday, Canelo’s manager/coach Eddy Reynoso announced the news of his two-month-old lawsuit having ended with Golden Boy, DAZN, and De L Hoya. Canelo is now promotionally free to go his way and fight for whoever and on the network he chooses.

Canelo (53-1-2, 36 KOs) is taking a big risk in leaving DAZN because he would have made a lot of money if he finished his final eight fights that he had left on his five-year, $365 million contract that he had with the streaming giant.

If Canelo had stayed, DAZN would have wanted input on the type of opponents that he faced. It would have taken a team approach to select Canelo’s opponents, and fighters like Avni Yildirim and Billy Joe Saunders might not have been agreed on.

Despite Golden Boy losing their flagship fighter in former four-division world champion Canelo, De La Hoya is upbeat about his promotional company. De La Hoya says Golden Boy still has future stars Vergil Ortiz, Ryan Garcia, and Jaime Munguia in their stable, and they will continue working with DAZN.

Image: Oscar De La Hoya's statement on Canelo Alvarez leaving Golden Boy

De La hoya’s statement on Canelo severing ties with Golden Boy Promotions:

“The lawsuit was resolved to everyone’s satisfaction, and we wish Canelo the best moving forward,” De La Hoya said in a statement via Mike Coppinger.

“In a strong partnership with DAZN, we will continue showcasing our wide array of talent, including rising superstars like Ryan Garcia, Jaime Munguia, and Vergil Ortiz, all of whom have the talent and the potential to become the next biggest star in our sport,” said De La Hoya.

It’s going to be difficult for Golden Boy to fill the vacuum left by Canelo departing from their promotional company. Even though Canelo’s career has been spotty in terms of compelling fights, he still brings in a lot of boxing fans.

They don’t mind when he takes on fading guys like Jacobs and Kovalev. Fans want to see Canelo fight, and Golden Boy doesn’t have anyone remotely as talented or popular to take his place.

Golden Boy obviously would have liked to have kept Canelo as part of their fighter stable, but he wanted a clean break and will go in another direction. We’ll see who Canelo ends up with soon.

With Matchroom Boxing USA working with DAZN, that’s a direction that Canelo probably won’t go in. Showtime and Premier Boxing Champions would seem like a possibility for Canelo.

Image: Oscar De La Hoya's statement on Canelo Alvarez leaving Golden Boy

It’s not a good time for pay-per-view

If the 30-year-old Alvarez signs with PBC, his fights would be shown on pay-per-view. If this were two years ago, it wouldn’t be an issue for Canelo to return to pay-per-view, but the pandemic has changed things.

To sell fights now on pay-per-view in this environment is tough, and Canelo likely won’t be able to place mismatches against guys like Yildirim and Billy Joe Saunders on pay-per-view. Canelo will need to take on fighters that boxing fans want to see him fight.

Only a small handful of fighters are available from 154 to 175 that Canelo can sell on pay-per-view. If Canelo doesn’t know that now, he’ll find in a hurry if he tries to sell a mismatch.

You can argue that Canelo’s last three fights on DAZN wouldn’t sell if they were on pay-per-view.

These are Canelo’s three fights with DAZN: Rocky Fielding, Daniel Jacobs, and Sergey Kovalev. Those are not pay-per-view worthy fights; Jacobs and Kovalev are on the downside of their careers and haven’t done much in years.