De La Hoya holds no grudges for Canelo leaving
After a breakup, the ideal outcome is to at least go your separate ways in peace. While not of the romantic variety, boxing is littered with valued personal relationships. Over the course of their amateur and professional careers, boxers will form strong bonds with any number of people. Chief seconds, cut men, managers and even promoters have forged special unions with their fighters. And just like those romantic relationships, in boxing, teams breakup all the time. Such was the case with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (54-1-2, 36 KO’s) and Golden Boy Promotions.
For ten years, Golden Boy guided the career of the newly crowned WBA super and WBC world super middleweight champion. Minus his recent super middleweight invasion, Alvarez fought all of his meaningful professional fights under that promotional umbrella. Yet, after a meticulous years long grooming process, the redhead was ready to search for his future fortunes elsewhere. So with some clever legal maneuvering, Alvarez shed GB as his promoter while maintaining his working relationship with DAZN.
WHEN ITS OVER, ITS OVER
There is no question that watching Canelo walk away must have been hard for Golden Boy owner Oscar De La Hoya. Beyond being the biggest revenue earner in his personal stable. Alvarez is the largest draw in boxing period.
The Golden Boy suffered a similar crippling blow back in 2014. In that instance, he lost a good chunk of his fighters to the PBC with the assistance of his own CEO, at the time, Richard Schaefer. In retaliation De La Hoya sued Schaefer and won a bitter lawsuit. Yet many of the particular terms of the settlement remain private. Here and now, with Canelo, the former-fighter-turned-promoter is opting for a more peaceful path.
“It’s very ironic and interesting to say the least, but look, everything happens for a reason. All I can say is that I wish Canelo all the very best, always. He is a great champion and our paths will cross again. We’re the best at what we do, we’re promoters for many years and we have promoted the best and biggest fights out there the last 20 years, including [Floyd] Mayweather and [Manny] Pacquiao and all these guys, Deontay [Wilder] and Leo [Santa Cruz], Danny Garcia. So, including Canelo, so our path will cross again, we have no doubt about that.”
“There comes a point in a fighter’s life where you think you have to fly away on your own and discover a whole new world. A lot of fighters think that the grass is greener on the other side. So we’ll just say our paths will cross again and I wish him all the best.”
When asked about his Zen-like handling of the matter, De La Hoya credited Top Rank promoter Bob Arum for his wisdom.
“Bob Arum taught me a very good lesson once, when he was promoting me. He goes, ‘Oscar, I never take anything personal anymore, I’ve been heartbroken too many times by fighters’. So I took that…it does hurt I’m no person that is heartless, but you have to know how to separate the business from the friendship and the relationship.”
By: Bakari Simpson
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