By this time, on Mexican Independence Day, Canelo Alvarez would be done with his 66th professional fight. Hopefully, he will have yet another win in his kitty. Nevertheless, the day of his fight with Edgar Berlanga, September 14, will also mark the 11th anniversary of the famous fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr., which also became his first career loss.

As he sat down with Shannon Sharpe, Oscar De La Hoya, under whose banner Alvarez fought for so many years, including the Mayweather bout, recalled how he tried convincing the now-super middleweight champion against a face-off with one of boxing’s best. But to no avail. Sadly, as he shared further details, ‘The Golden Boy’ revealed how history repeated itself subsequently. Despite his concerns, the biggest star from his stable, Ryan Garcia, decided to match his wits against a beast, Gervonta Davis. But as most fans know, history often has a nasty tendency to repeat itself.

A Costly Misstep: Canelo Alvarez vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. 

The matter came up while Oscar De La Hoya and Shannon Sharpe started talking about the former’s 2007 Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight. Mayweather Jr. eventually won the fight by a split decision. However, the Barcelona Olympic gold medalist revealed why he’s always felt, and that’s the view of many diehards as well, that he won the epic clash.

Oscar De La Hoya narrated how the Golden Boy banner brought on some of Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s most famous fights. It included the 2013 fight with Canelo Alvarez. The mere mention of his former charge’s name had ‘The Golden Boy’ take a detour to how he had tried persuading the Mexican superstar into not fighting ‘The Money’. However, the attempt failed. Sharpe highlighted how Alvarez was the bigger man in that fight. De La Hoya added, “He is, but he’s 21 years old, flexing his muscles like I can take on Floyd. I’m the very best guess what you got schooled. You got schooled… I mean, it wasn’t even close.”

Earlier, Sharpe wanted to know what made Floyd Mayweather Jr. such an outstanding boxer. Oscar De La Hoya narrated how, over the years, Floyd Mayweather Jr. became business-savvy. The move helped him extend his career considerably. He also shared his views on how Mayweather Jr. would have fared had he been with the four kings of the 80s, viz., Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns, ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard, and Roberto Duran.

The point made Shannon Sharpe reflect on how, in the 1970s and 1980s, all the top-level boxers, including Muhammad Ali, literally fought with each other. So if Floyd Mayweather Jr. had been in that era, he would have had to follow suit. He may not have taken up fights from a more business perspective, as he did in the later part of his career.

The past raises its head again

As it turned out, Oscar De La Hoya went through a similar situation roughly a decade later. By 2023, The Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Alvarez had separated on a bitter note. Ryan Garcia had taken over the mantle. On April 22, 2023, he went against the biggest name in the lightweight division, Gervonta Davis. Like Alvarez, the fight ended disastrously for Garcia.

Oscar De La Hoya shared that, though he was the promoter, Ryan Garcia’s legal team and advisors reportedly took the lead during the negotiations with Team Davis. It included the rehydration clause and purse split specifications. “I felt so bad for Ryan because he was sucked up. He was a dead man. He reminded me of me when I fought Pacquiao. There’s no chance he’s gonna win against ‘Tank’, who’s a beast. There is no chance,” recalled De La Hoya.

Fans saw Oscar De La Hoya and Canelo Alvarez going at each other during the Jaime Munguia fight. Things turned sour with Ryan Garcia after the ‘Tank’ defeat. Thankfully, they seem to have reconciled and are reportedly back to working together. Given Garcia’s year-long suspension, let’s hope the two return with a great fight.

What is your take from Oscar De La Hoya’s observations of Canelo Alvarez and Ryan Garcia’s losses?