LAS VEGAS – Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s news-conference claims that his former promoter Oscar De La Hoya “tried to steal” from the fighter have been met by a legal letter asking that he retract the words while warning him to avoid repeat comments.
“He said this outrageous lie not once, but several times – both in English and Spanish – and it has now been re-published to millions around the world,” De La Hoya attorney Ricardo Cestero wrote to Alvarez’s attorney, Gregory Smith, in a Thursday letter.
De La Hoya spent the majority of his time on the podium Wednesday addressing Alvarez’s criticism of the promoter during the lead-up to Alvarez’s Saturday night defense of his undisputed super middleweight belts versus the De La Hoya-promoted Jaime Munguia on Prime Video pay-per-view.
He turned to a seated Alvarez and demanded that the fighter “put some respect” on his name after Alvarez’s successful 10-year run with De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions.
Cestero wrote, “the legal implications of such blatantly false allegations” are serious, adding, “it’s defamatory … to accuse someone of a crime [and] to make false statements specifically designed to injure someone’s business. Canelo did both of those things [Wednesday].
“He falsely accused Oscar of a crime with the specific intention of supposedly warning other boxers not to do business with Oscar or Golden Boy. Clearly, Canelo intentionally defamed Oscar and Golden Boy.”
Alvarez and De La Hoya split in 2020 after a decade together, when Alvarez won title fights in four divisions and became the sport’s No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer.
Alvarez had sued De La Hoya back then for breach of contract and other claims, and has since fought under Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing banner and for Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions, as he is doing for the Munguia fight.
This is the first time Alvarez and De La Hoya have worked together since their split.
De La Hoya’s attorney wrote that Alvarez’s statements were made with actual malice, a requisite for a defamation claim.
“Obviously, Canelo harbors great animosity and ill will toward Oscar [repeatedly referring to him as a ‘f****** a******’ and even stooping to using a derogatory gay slur]. … But Canelo also knows full well that neither Oscar nor Golden Boy never stole anything from him or anyone else,” Cestero wrote.
“In fact, Golden Boy has paid Canelo every penny he was entitled to receive from his fights … and then some. And Canelo knows it. … It was Oscar and Golden Boy who established Canelo’s current market value with the groundbreaking deals they negotiated for him.”
Alvarez has steadily earned purses in excess of $35 million, although the Nevada Athletic Commission has yet to report what his guaranteed purse for the Munguia fight is.
The letter took a swipe at Alvarez, who has suffered one loss – to unbeaten light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol – and failed to knock out his past four opponents.
“Although Canelo may be disappointed that his career has plateaued since he left Golden Boy, that disappointment does not justify making such outrageous defamatory statements,” Cestero wrote.
Cestero added he demands that Alvarez “cease and desist from making any further false and preposterous allegations against Oscar and Golden Boy.
“We also demand that Canelo immediately retract his defamatory allegations that Oscar stole from boxers. Oscar and Golden Boy reserve all rights to sue Canelo for the damages caused by these defamatory accusations, including punitive damages designed to ensure Canelo learns his lesson.”