Canelo Alvarez pricing himself at $200M for David Benavidez fight is a sign of fear, says Oscar De La Hoya: "I'm trying to think of an excuse"
Oscar De La Hoya believes Canelo Alvarez is pricing himself out of a potential fight against David Benavidez. 'The Golden Boy' jibed at Alvarez and urged him to give the boxing community a good fight by taking on Benavidez.
The vast majority of boxing fans and experts have been calling for Alvarez to face fellow legend Terence Crawford or David Benavidez next. Nevertheless, the Mexican boxing megastar has lately chosen to face other opponents, as his financial demands for the possible Crawford and Benavidez matchups weren't met.
Crawford last defeated Israil Madrimov via unanimous decision to capture the WBA and interim WBO super welterweight titles on Aug. 3, 2024. Benavidez's latest fight saw him capture the interim WBC light heavyweight title by defeating Oleksandr Gvozdyk via unanimous decision in June 2024.
Canelo Alvarez has consistently indicated that he'll accept the Benavidez fight for a $200 million payday, as it's a high-risk low-reward matchup against a heavier opponent. Besides, the boxing icon expects $150 million to fight Crawford.
For years, Alvarez was promoted by Oscar De La Hoya's 'Golden Boy Promotions' before a highly publicized split. Speaking to Sean Zittel, De La Hoya has now addressed the Alvarez-Benavidez situation and notably referenced His Excellency Turki Alalshikh's recent claims that Alvarez was evading Crawford and Benavidez.
De La Hoya stated:
"Canelo not wanting to fight Benavidez and outpricing himself -- even Turki knows that Canelo is afraid of Benavidez. I'm trying to think of an excuse for Canelo of why he doesn't want to fight Benavidez. 200 million dollars? You're crazy. You are crazy. In other words, you don't want to fight him."
He added:
"And it's sad because boxing is on the rise. Boxing is on the rise because all these big fights are happening, right? And everybody is excited. And if Canelo fights Benavidez, guess what, that's the Super Bowl of boxing. Boxing would just thrive and just keep going up, and up, and up, and up. So, Canelo, come on. What's up, dude? Give us the fight. Don't give us bad fights. Give us good fights."
Watch De La Hoya's below (0:00-0:45):
Oscar De La Hoya changed his mind on possible Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford fight
Oscar De La Hoya had weighed in on the much-discussed dream matchup between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford in 2023. The boxing legend reiterated his stance that assuming the skill differential is negligible, the bigger fighter always defeats the smaller fighter.
Regardless, De La Hoya implied that their size differential wasn't significant enough and picked Terence Crawford to beat Canelo Alvarez at 164 pounds.
Watch De La Hoya's assessment in the 2023 interview below (3:53-4:33):
During his aforementioned interview with Sean Zittel this month (Aug. 2024), De La Hoya seemed to suggest he's changed his mind about the Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford matchup. He acknowledged that after watching Crawford being troubled by Israil Madrimov, he feels the size difference between Alvarez and Crawford would negate the latter's edge in skills. He noted:
"I actually thought Crawford would beat Canelo before I saw him fight [Israil Madrimov on] Saturday ... Madrimov, he's a beast ... Yeah. It changed my mind." [0:46-minute mark]
Alvarez is scheduled to defend his WBA (Super), WBC, WBO, and Ring Magazine super middleweight titles against Edgar Berlanga on Sept. 14, 2024.