Boxing

Oscar De La Hoya Predicts Turki Alalshikh's 'Demand' For Next Canelo Alvarez Fight

Boxing icon Oscar De La Hoya made a fascinating claim about who's calling the shots for Canelo Alvarez's next fight.
Grant Young|
IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

In the weeks after Canelo Alvarez's defeat to Terence Crawford on September 13, it came out that Canelo needed surgery on his elbow, which would delay his initial return timeline of early 2026 to some point later on in the year.

This news came as a surprise to some, given that Canelo has been very consistent with fighting in May and in September during the most recent years. However, the hope is that this extra time off to address any injuries will do Canelo good, perhaps even helping him revert to the form he showed back when he was in his prime a few years ago.

There's no question that Turki Alalshikh wants to see the best out of Canelo the next time he returns to the ring, given that Alalshikh is the one footing the bill for Canelo's massive contract. In other words, if Alalshikh is paying Canelo nine figures each time he fights (as various reports suggest), Canelo should probably get back in the win column after losing his undisputed super middleweight belts to Crawford last month.

The Saudi Arabia’s Entertainment Authority’s chairman now says that Usyk won fairly
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Oscar De La Hoya Gets Honest About What's Next for Canelo Alvarez

If there's one person who has no say about what Canelo will do next, it's boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya, as he and Canelo have a bitter beef that stems from their time working together. But that doesn't mean De La Hoya can't offer his opinion on what Canelo's next move should be, which he revealed during his October 20 interview on The Ariel Helwani Show.

"I think Canelo is gonna try and pick a soft opponent for his next fight," De La Hoya said. "Given the fact that he has such a lucrative contract with Turki, I don't think Turki is gonna let him. I don't think Turki will allow him to fight a softie because there's a lot of money being paid out to Canelo.

"So Turki is gonna demand his money's worth. He's gonna demand fighting the very best," he added. "See, I like Turki, because he understands the best versus the best, and I like that. But what he must understand is that in order to get to that level, you need to develop fighters. And that's what we do best."

While De La Hoya is making a fascinating point, the bottom line is that he's just speculating on Turki Alalshikh's desires, which could mean that Turki is content with Canelo picking a "softie" for his next bout.

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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.