Oscar De La Hoya has issued a cease and desist letter to Canelo Alvarez regarding what he calls “defamatory accusations.”
Canelo alleged earlier this week that De La Hoya stole money from his clients.
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The former pound-for-pound king insisted he had proof and even asked De La Hoya if he still owed his old foe Gennady Golovkin money for one of their first two fights.
However, De La Hoya categorically denies that this is the case.
“I will definitely file a defamation complaint,” De La Hoya said ESPN.
“Imagine the damage this can do to my reputation. Imagine what this can do to my business if fighters (who) are going to believe this. It’s terrible. We have paid (Golovkin) everything he is owed.”
“I will defend myself when someone speaks negatively about me and that’s what I did.
“It was the perfect time to let him know how I feel. It felt so good. Finally – I’ve been content to keep quiet for all these years – and finally I can tell him to his face, give him some damn. I respect my name.”
Today, ESPN obtained a letter from Golden Boy Promotions from De La Hoya addressed to Canelo, demanding that he retract his statement and refrain from making further allegations.
In the letter, De La Hoya’s attorney, Ricardo P. Cestero, wrote that Canelo “falsely accused Oscar of a crime with the specific intent of warning other boxers not to do business with Oscar or Golden Boy”.
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“Clearly, Canelo defamed Oscar and Golden Boy internationally,” Cestero continued. “Canelo’s statements were also made with actual malice. … Oscar and Golden Boy reserve all rights to pursue Canelo for damages caused by these defamatory accusations, including punitive damages intended to secure May Canelo learn his lesson.”
Canelo’s attorney, Gregory M. Smith, told the same publication that his client “said what he said.”
“After the breakdown of his relationship with Golden Boy, Alvarez audited Golden Boy’s payments and deductions under his prior contracts,” Smith added. “The audit found that Alvarez owed money.
“Court records show that GGG also audited Golden Boy and found that it had also been underpaid. GGG then sued Golden Boy for the missing funds.”
Canelo fought Golovkin three times, with their rivalry split into two wins over the Mexican superstar and one draw.
De La Hoya participated in their first two outings which took place in September 2017 and September 2018 as he was Canelo’s promoter at the time.
The couple had an acrimonious split in 2020 with Canelo suing De La Hoya and Golden Boy for breach of contract before ultimately being granted free agency.
He has since bounced between promoters fight by fight and recently signed a one-fight deal with Al Haymon’s PBC for his upcoming clash against De La Hoya fighter Jaime Munguia on May 4.
The coming together of two sworn enemies has reignited their feud, with Canelo and De La Hoya recently clashing in a furious altercation during the final press conference of Wednesday’s event.
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