Boxing

Oscar De La Hoya Slams Canelo Alvarez After William Scull Fight: "It's Sad, It Really Is"

Oscar De La Hoya called out Canelo Alvarez after his historic dud against William Scull.
Grant Young|
Jan. 25, 2024; Phoenix, Ariz; USA; Oscar De La Hoya speaks about boxer Jamie Munguia (center) about the Munguia v Ryder main event during a press conference for Golden Boy boxing event.
Jan. 25, 2024; Phoenix, Ariz; USA; Oscar De La Hoya speaks about boxer Jamie Munguia (center) about the Munguia v Ryder main event during a press conference for Golden Boy boxing event. | Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

The boxing community is feeling extremely frustrated after what was supposed to be one of the most exciting weekends in the sport's 2025 calendar turned out to deliver extremely disappointing fights.

This started with the May 2 card im Times Square that featured stars like Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, and Teofimo Lopez. All three main card fights were boring, delivered minimal excitement, and did not live up to the massive expectations of what was supposed to be an iconic card.

Then Canelo Alvarez fought William Scull on May 3. Any fan who hoped Canelo could make up for May 2's dud was incorrect, as the fight was historically slow-paced and Canelo looked far from his best in the decision win.

Boxing legend and founder of Golden Boy Promotions Oscar De La Hoya went on a passionate tirade blasting Canelo for his performance a few hours after the fight against Scull ended.

"Canelo... Come on. You're getting paid all this money to fight against the runner, who we all knew was gonna run," De La Hoya said, per his Instagram. "You chose him, and now you say you hate fighting runners? Well then don't fight runners! We all know who we want to see you in against, that's Benavidez. Go up against Benavidez, fight Benavidez. He won't run.

"But it's sad, it really is," he added. "When you're fighting for the money and not legacy, every young fighter follows that pattern, and it's not fair... The fans want to see good fights!"

De La Hoya was speaking for many fans with that sentiment.

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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.