In recent years, boxing fans have become accustomed to the ever-present threats sent between Golden Boy Promoter Oscar De La Hoya and his former fighter, Canelo Alvarez. However, ahead of Canelo’s fight tomorrow night, De La Hoya may even be routing for his fiercest rival, after a fiery exchange with Canelo’s opponent continued.
Canelo Alvarez has made it clear that he will not be pressured into fights that he does not wish to take over the last couple of years, opting to take on the likes of John Ryder and Jaime Munguia rather than David Benavidez or David Morrell, much to the disappointment of his fans.
On this occasion, Canelo has selected undefeated New Yorker Edgar Berlanga to be in the opposing corner and De La Hoya has spoken out and slammed the decision before labelling Berlanga as both a fake Puerto Rican and a sub-par opponent.
At the fight week press conference for the event, which De La Hoya has announced he will not be attending, Berlanga addressed the six-division world champion and threatened to ‘smack him’ after his consistent slander of the pay-per-view event.
“F**k Oscar De La Hoya, that mother****er. He keeps talking and talking, we are going to smack him when we see him. He has got to stop, he is trying to f**k up the event.”
In response, De La Hoya continued to poke fun at Berlanga, who sensationally scored 16 consecutive first-round knockout wins in his first 16 professional bouts, questioning why Puerto Rican’s are not travelling to Las Vegas to support him as they did for fan-favourite Felix Trinidad – who became the first man to defeat De La Hoya when they met in 1999.
“Edgar Berlanga, you stopped your press conference yesterday to mention my name! You said that you are going to slap me when you see me next! Why? Because I asked to see your Puerto Rican birth certificate because you are not really Puerto Rican? I am asking because, when I fought [Felix] Trinidad, he had the entire island travel to Las Vegas to support him.
“Or are you upset because I said that you are a sub-par opponent for Canelo? These are the facts bro, don’t let them get you rattled. Dude, you are not fighting me, you are distracted and you better get locked in because Canelo is going to tap that a** this weekend!
“Good luck and enjoy your first and last pay-per-view experience!”
Canelo-Berlanga will take place on Saturday night (September 14th) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Nevada, topping a card that features two former opponents of Alvarez’s as well as the return of former world champions Rolando Romero and Stephen Fulton.
The full card will be available to watch live on Amazon Prime Video PPV and is priced at £19.99 for fans in the United Kingdom, with the main card set to begin at 1am BST and the ring walks for Canelo-Berlanga scheduled for 4am BST.
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