De La Hoya: Arum Might Keep Crawford From Making HOF!
Amid an explanation of his seemingly rocky relationship with Canelo Alvarez, Oscar De La Hoya took a shot at his former promoter and, in turn, one of the best boxers in the sport.
De La Hoya explained that disagreements among boxers and promoters are common, especially when rivals interfere with one’s business. Still, the retired six-division champion claims that he and Alvarez are back on the same page now that the Mexican superstar’s fight against WBO light heavyweight champ Sergey Kovalev has been finalized for November 2 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
“That’s what boxing is,” De La Hoya told a group of reporters after an Alvarez-Kovalev press conference Wednesday night in Los Angeles. “I mean, look, boxing is a sport that, look, you have your ups and downs. You have to bite your tongue and you have to have a lot of patience. That’s the bottom line. Because like I said, we have a huge target on our back. Everybody wants a piece of us. We just have to be careful and strategize and be smarter than them.
“Look, Bob Arum, he was like fantasizing about Canelo. He was like salivating over him. Right? And he has [Terence] Crawford. What is he doing for him? He’s not doing anything for him. I actually feel kinda bad that Crawford might not get to the Hall of Fame one day because Bob can’t get him a fight. You know? So, look, Canelo’s with us. He’s with Team Golden Boy for many more years. Ryan Garcia’s with Team Golden Boy for many more years. Bob Arum, or whoever’s out there, just stop salivating. Leave our fighters alone and let us do our job.”
Crawford (35-0, 26 KOs), who’s promoted by Arum’s Top Rank Inc. and affiliated with ESPN, is typically listed as one of the top three boxers, pound-for-pound, in the sport. The unbeaten WBO welterweight champion has won world titles in three weight classes and became the undisputed 140-pound champion prior to moving up to 147 pounds.
Since Crawford defeated Jeff Horn to win the WBO welterweight crown, however, he has fought Jose Benavidez Jr. and Amir Khan. His next fight is expected to take place December 14 at Madison Square Garden, where he’ll make a mandatory title defense against Lithuania’s Egidijus Kavaliauskas (21-0-1, 17 KOs).
It has been hard for Crawford to secure the types of welterweight title unification fights he wants because the three other recognized 147-pound champions – Errol Spence Jr., Manny Pacquiao and Shawn Porter – all are affiliated with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions organization and fight either on FOX or Showtime. Spence (25-0, 21 KOs), the IBF champ, and Porter (30-2-1, 17 KOs), the WBC champ, are scheduled to meet September 28 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
