Canelo Alvarez’s fight on Saturday with Jaime Munguia will be the actual main event of this week in boxing, but Canelo’s feud with former promoter — and Munguia’s current promoter — Oscar De La Hoya has stolen the headlines during fight week.
Canelo and De La Hoya had a verbal altercation on Wednesday at the final press conference for the fight, and De La Hoya has said he plans to sue Alvarez for defamation.
Former Golden Boy matchmaker Robert Diaz has known both men for many years, and says if anyone is hoping to rattle Canelo and get him to bring angry energy into the ring, he doesn’t see that happening.
“I don’t think you can get into Canelo’s head, to be honest,” Diaz told Fight Hub TV. “(Oscar) got a reaction from his action, that’s normal, that’s Canelo, I think that would have been anybody else. But Canelo is very mature. Even at an early age, he was very mature, very cold in that sense. He reacted but now, a couple hours later, it’s gone over. He may be upset, he may be angry, but he won’t take that into the ring.”
The feud between Canelo and De La Hoya goes back years, to when the two were still working together as fighter and promoter, and even a good bit before Alvarez officially split from Golden Boy in 2020.
Diaz acknowledged that it’s been brewing a long time.
“There’s been a jab here, a jab there,” he said. “It’s like a fight, the first couple rounds were the feel-out rounds, now it’s into the eighth or ninth round, now the bombs are letting go. Who’s gonna land the KO? That’s what we all wanna know.”
On the Oscar and Canelo trade at the presser
“You gotta remember, Oscar was an amazing fighter, amazing world champion, he’s always throwing punches. And with Canelo, that can be expected, you throw at him, he’s gonna throw back. He’s a good counter-puncher. I think that’s what we saw, a little round of that. If anything, look, after the press conference, anything you opened up, that’s what everybody was talking about. Not that it was done purposely for that, but it was the talk of the town.”
On Oscar saying he won’t “bury the hatchet” with Canelo
“Let’s not forget, too, how long it took to bury the hatchet (with Fernando Vargas and Ricardo Mayorga). It didn’t happen overnight. It was a process of years later. I’m not saying it’s gonna happen, but it could be a process of years later, we bury the hatchet. At our age? Come on. To be holding onto burdens and fighting, there’s more to life, go enjoy it and relax.”
On Canelo vs Munguia
“It is a big fight, and whenever you get two Mexican fighters — I mean who can ever forget Barrera-Morales, and Marquez-Vazquez. … They go down in history and people talk about them years later because they bring out the best. As a Mexican, there’s a feeling that, yeah, I can lose to somebody else, but I’m not gonna lose to a fellow countryman. They both come in with a lot of pride and a lot of honor.
“Munguia is coming in with perfect timing … If this would have happened a year ago, the odds would have been so (wide). This is the perfect timing. Jaime’s undefeated, he now has experience, he’s not gonna be a deer in headlights. He’s coming to win. That’s what’s going to make the fight.
“You always need a good dance partner, and Canelo unfortunately at times has not had that good dance partner. … Jaime’s coming for legacy, Jaime’s coming for victory … and that’s what’s going to make it action-packed. Jaime throws a lot of punches, but he has holes where he gets hit.
“I think Canelo with his experience doesn’t have to throw as many punches anymore. He can pick and choose, let him make mistakes, set him up for mistakes — that’s gonna be the difference. It’s not just experience. Canelo’s talent, his size, his power. Munguia can punch, but he can be shaken up, too.”
“Tommy Hearns was one of the most exciting fighters in boxing history. Explosive punch, but always could get stopped and knocked out. It’s not gonna lower Munguia’s love from the fans. I think he’s gonna put on a great performance in defeat, and he’s going to grow from this fight.”