Oscar De La Hoya continues war of words with Canelo Alvarez with fresh jibe at pound-for-pound king

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By Tom Ward

Published Jun 24, 2021

Oscar De La Hoya has continued his war of words with Canelo Alvarez as he takes aim at his former protege's fighting style

Boxing icon Oscar De La Hoya has continued his war of words with Canelo Alvarez by insisting his former protégé is more like Ricardo Mayorga than Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Alvarez watched on from ringside as Anderson Silva beat Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in an epic battle at 'Tribute to the Kings' on Saturday night shortly after defeating WBO super-middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders to capture his 15th major world title last month.

However, De La Hoya insists the Mexican's achievements pale into insignificance in comparison to some of the all-time greats like Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales.

The former world champion's comments come just two weeks after footage of Alvarez teaching a novice fighter the fundamentals of the sweet science went viral, sparking a public feud between De La Hoya and Alvarez on social media.

De La Hoya claimed Canelo 'does everything wrong' before going on to criticise the pound-for-pound king for his terrible punching technique - and it seems 'Golden Boy' had a second dig to aim at his former protégé.

“You know what’s happening? Legends and fighters like myself that are retired, the level of competition except for a few, is not as high as ours was," De La Hoya said to FightHype.com.

"The way we fought back then, it’s like a no-brainer, so I think that's what's happening. I can do it. I can do it against that champion right there; he's easy, you know?

"I have a saying, America is getting soft, and that’s why I feel like we can do this easily with our eyes closed; it’s a no-brainer. I think that’s what’s happening. All these legends are coming back, saying, ‘I can take this guy.'"

De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs), 48, of Los Angeles, California, recently confirmed he will be coming out of retirement to fight in an exhibition bout against Vitor Belfort at Triller Fight Club on September 11.

But 'Golden Boy' also has big ambitions for his boxing career in 2021, chief among them a dream matchup across the eras with Canelo, as he targets some of the big names from his past.

"I think Canelo is like [Ricardo] Mayorga, he's strong, he's strong like an ox, but strong doesn't win fights," he added. "Floyd Mayweather Jr said that from experience.

“Punching power does not win fights, not at all. Every fighter progresses and learns a few tricks here and there.

“I think he has more punching power; he’s stronger. But again, power doesn’t win fights when you’re in there with an elite fighter like a Floyd, like myself, somebody that can see the punches coming."