LAS VEGAS — Oscar De La Hoya provoked Canelo Alvarez into a heated, profanity-laced exchange Wednesday during the final press conference before Alvarez fights Jaime Munguia Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.
De La Hoya, who once served as Alvarez’s promoter and now represents Munguia, profanely called on Alvarez to show him ‘respect.” He also mentioned that Alvarez failed two drug tests in 2018.
Soon after, Alvarez stood up on the stage and the two men stood less than 10 feet apart as Alvarez angrily fired back in Spanish.
“Hey, it’s fight week,’’ De La Hoya, a Hall of Fame fighter, said afterward. “It’s game on. (Expletive), we’re not at church. This is a fight. Let’s go.’’
Later during Wednesday’s press conference, interrupting a translator, Alvarez said De La Hoya, “tried to steal money. … He steals from fighters.’’ The comments also were spiced with profanity.
After the press conference, De La Hoya said he thinks the tense exchange between the men could impact the outcome of the fight, which will see Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) defending his unified super middleweight championship against Munguia (43-0, 34 KOs).
“Oh, yeah, when you’re distracted in your head and you’re thinking about me, it can be detrimental to his concentration, to his game plan,’’ De La Hoya said. ‘So hopefully it worked.’’
Alvarez, who left Golden Boy Promotions in 2020, smiled as he dismissed the idea that what happened at the press conference will distract him.
“He just want attention no matter what,’’ Alvarez said. “… He’s mad because I leave Golden Boy.’’
Alvarez also said he has proof that De La Hoya tried to steal money from him and Gennadiy Golovkin after their first fight in 2017 or their second fight in 2018.
The tension Wednesday surfaced after De La Hoya stepped to the microphone for traditional prefight comments.
“I have nothing but respect for Canelo Alvarez as a fighter,’’ said De La Hoya. “His record and ability speak for themselves. But he has spent much of the last two months insulting me rather than promoting this fight.
‘So I’ll make it a little bit easier for him. Yes, I have faced a lot of challenges in life. Yes, I’ve been to rehab several times. Yes, there were some really low times in my life and yes there were times my work was not my priority based on my mental health, which I had neglected for so long.
“But that doesn’t change the fact that Golden Boy built Canelo Alvarez, period. The company … for decades has always had one name, and it’s mine. So put some (expletive) respect on it.”
The two failed drug tests De La Hoya brought up were in reference to what earned Alvarez a suspension before his second fight with Golovkin. Munguia, then 21, volunteered to fight Golovkin to preserve the fight card. But the Nevada state commission rejected the option because it considered Munguia too young and inexperienced at the time to face Golovkin.