Boxing

Oscar De La Hoya Predicts Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford Amid 'Lame' Admission

Boxing icon Oscar De La Hoya didn't mince words about the recent Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford press conferences.
Grant Young|
Oscar De La Hoya pictured at Fatal Fury In Times Square on May 2, 2025.
Oscar De La Hoya pictured at Fatal Fury In Times Square on May 2, 2025. | IMAGO / MediaPunch

While this summer's boxing calendar is packed with elite fights from some of the world's best talent, there's no question that the biggest fight of them all is the September 13 showdown between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford.

Given what these two have accomplished in the sport, combined with this fight having the backing of Turki Alalshikh and Dana White, and being broadcast on Netflix, this match is set to produce an unprecedented spectacle.

There are two prevailing criticisms of Canelo vs. Crawford to this point. One is that the massive weight difference between them makes it so many believe Crawford doesn't have much of a chance against the bigger Canelo, and the other is that these two seem to have a respectful relationship with each other, which means there isn't any authentic bad blood between them (which always heightens excitement for a fight).

However, on the surface, the two seem to have rectified that last complaint by Canelo shoving Crawford during their most recent press conference.

Many in the boxing world are convinced that this shove was a fabricated, predetermined as a way to create more intrigue for this fight. And boxing icon Oscar De La Hoya shared this sentiment (while also analyzing how Canelo vs. Crawford will pan out) during a June 24 appearance on the Ariel & Ade Show.

"I mean look, the fight can go either way," De La Hoya said. "Either Crawford gets on his bicycle because Canelo hits too hard, just like we saw with Scull. Or there's another scenario that could happen where Crawford can make Canelo look bad just like Mayweather did, and just took him to school without running. Or we'll see Canelo just annihilate him because of the weight."

De La Hoya later added, "I just think the [Canelo vs. Crawford] press conferences were freaking lame... Just because it was all staged. I mean, come on, guys. Look, if you want to see Canelo pissed off, take a look at my press conference with [Jaime] Munguia and Canelo. That's Canelo pissed off."

Many would agree with De La Hoya's assessment of both the Canelo vs Crawford fight and press conferences.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young is a Staff Writer for On SI’s Boxing, New York Mets, Indiana Fever, and Women’s Fastbreak sites. Before joining SI in 2024, he wrote for various boxing and sports verticals such as FanBuzz and NY Fights. Young has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in creative writing with an emphasis on sports nonfiction from the University of San Francisco, where he played five seasons of Division 1 baseball. He fought Muay Thai professionally in Thailand in 2023, loves a good essay, and is driven crazy trying to handle a pitpull puppy named Aura. Young lives in San Diego and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.