Golden Boy boss Oscar De La Hoya has made it clear on social media that he is not in favor of Canelo Alvarez possibly choosing to defend his unified super middleweight titles against Chris Eubank Jr. next at Wembley in London.
De La Hoya said on X,”UK fans don’t know anything about boxing.” He was responding to a quote from Eubank Jr’s promoter Ben Shalom, who said he thought the fight would sell out Wembley.
De La Hoya feels that Canelo should fight high level fighters like David Benavidez. He was put off by how he padded his record against lesser guys, like Edgar Berlanga and now possibly Eubank Jr.
Of course the fight will make money from the British audience, but it will make a mockery of the sport. Eubank Jr. is a celebrity fighter along the lines of Jake Paul, and he doesn’t belong in the ring with a world champion like Canelo.
If you’re a hardcore fan, you’ll know what kind of fighter Eubank Jr. is. is. He is nowhere near the world class level. He is a ‘domestic’ British fighter who is popular in the UK because of his father, but has never done anything to judge his popularity in real terms. He’s a celebrity’s child, and he’s gotten attention because of it.
You can’t Eubank Jr. throw in a top middleweight champion like Janibek Alimkhanuly and expect him to last for three rounds unless he’s being deliberately worn. Eubank Jr. is too limited as a fighter and an old, limited fighter.
While this is a toxic comment for De La Hoya to make, his thoughts behind it are that the fight is a mismatch and not worthy of Canelo and his fans. Eubank Jr. is known for being the son of former world champion Chris Eubank.
As the son of this star, Eubank Jr. made good money in the UK, with strict scrubs, fighters below the top level, fighting. He made good money even though he never beat anyone of the highest level who wasn’t undersized or washed up.
Eubank Jr. had a good run in the UK, fighting below-world level fights and earning cash that quality contenders could never dream of getting. Eubank Jr. is a famous boxer but not world class.
De La Hoya is obviously disgusted by the idea that Canelo would stoop to the level of fighting this type of fighter. It would be fine if it was an exhibition match because it would just be to entertain the British fans and get a few laughs over a guy who doesn’t belong in the ring with him.
This is a real fight and will count on Canelo’s record. It is repulsive. It’s like Floyd Mayweather Jr. who is fighting 0-0 starter Conor McGregor in 2017 to break Rocky Marciano’s record of 49-0.
The mismatch was approved. Eubank Jr. isn’t a contender at 168, he hasn’t beaten the fighters he needs to to earn a title shot against WBA, WBC and WBO super middleweight champion Canelo. As such, should this be an exhibition match or not happen at all?
Eubank Jr. will never try to climb the super middleweight rankings by beating talents like Osleys Iglesias, Diego Pacheco or Jaime Munguia because he is not talented enough. In my estimation, he wouldn’t even beat Edgar Berlanga.
Let’s face it: 35-year-old Eubank Jr. (34-3, 25 KOs) is an inflated record filled with non-world class opposition. He has fought once in his career against an A-level fighter, George Groves, and was defeated in a one-sided 12-round unanimous decision on February 17, 2018.
After that defeat, Eubank Jr returned to the tomato can cyclefight these fighters:
– Kamil Szeremeta
– Liam Smith x 2: *KO’d in first fight
– Liam Williams
– Wanik Audijan
– Marcus Morrison
– Matt Korobov
– James Degale: *Crop
– JJ McDonagh
Oscar De La Hoya Knocks British Boxing Fans Out Today… pic.twitter.com/zSepGlUX0T
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBenson) 30 October 2024
