Golden Boy boss Oscar De La Hoya made it clear on social media that he’s not in favor of Canelo Alvarez potentially 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 s*** about boxing.” He was responding to a quote from Eubank Jr’s promoter Ben Shalom, who said that he thinks the fight would sell out Wembley.
De La Hoya feels that Canelo should fight high-level fighters like David Benavidez. He’s put off by how he’s been padding his record fighting lesser guys, like Edgar Berlanga and now possibly Eubank Jr.
Of course, the fight would make money from the UK audience, but it would 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. He’s nowhere near the world-class level. He’s a ‘domestic level’ British fighter who is popular in the UK because of his father but has never done anything to rate his popularity in true terms. He’s a celebrity’s kid, and he’s given attention because of that.
You can’t throw Eubank Jr. in with a top middleweight champion like Janibek Alimkhanuly and expect him to last for three rounds unless he’s intentionally carried. Eubank Jr. is too limited as a fighter and an old, limited fighter.
While it’s a poisonous 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 famous for being the son of former world champion Chris Eubank.
As the son of this star, Eubank Jr. has made good money in the UK, fighting strictly scrubs, fighters below the top level. He has made good money despite never beating anyone top-tier who wasn’t subpar or washed.
Eubank Jr. has had a good hustle going in the UK, fighting below-world-level fighters and making cash that quality contenders could never dream of getting. Eubank Jr. is a celebrity 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 this were an exhibition match because it would be just to entertain the UK fans and get a few laughs beating up on a guy that doesn’t belong in the ring with him.
This is a real fight and would count on Canelo’s record. That’s off-putting. It’s like Floyd Mayweather Jr. fighting 0-0 novice Conor McGregor in 2017 to break Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 record.
The mismatch was sanctioned. Eubank Jr. is not a contender at 168, he hadn’t beaten the fighters that he should have 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’s not talented enough. In my estimation, he wouldn’t even beat Edgar Berlanga.
Let’s face it: the 35-year-old Eubank Jr. (34-3, 25 KOs) is an inflated record filled with non-world-class opposition. He stepped up once in his career against an A-level fighter, George Groves, and was thrashed in a one-sided 12-round unanimous decision on February 17, 2018.
After that defeat, Eubank Jr. returned to the tomato can circuit, fighting these fighters:
– Kamil Szeremeta
– Liam Smith x 2: *KO’d in first fight
– Liam Williams
– Wanik Awdijan
– Marcus Morrison
– Matt Korobov
– James Degale: *Washed
– J.J. McDonagh
Oscar De La Hoya lashing out at British boxing fans today… pic.twitter.com/zSepGlUX0T
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) October 30, 2024
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