Written by Oscar De La Hoya | Photo by Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy/Getty Images
Oscar De La Hoya enjoyed UFC 306, but that didn’t change his mind about Dana White.
For the past several years, De La Hoya and White have taken shots at one another through the media over all manner of things. However, if there’s one person in combat sports De La Hoya is on worse terms with, it’s his former fighter Canelo Alvarez. So this past weekend, when Alvarez fought Edgar Berlanga, going head-to-head with “Noche UFC” in Las Vegas on Mexican Independence Day weekend, the boxing Hall of Famer declared he would attend UFC 306 instead of the boxing event.
Apparently De La Hoya did just that, and rather enjoyed himself at Sphere.
“UFC Noche. I was true to my word,” De La Hoya said on Instagram. “I did attend last Saturday. I sat in [Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority] Turki [Alalshikh’s] box upstairs and I have to be honest with you, it was beautiful. It was spectacular. It looked really cool. The production value was there, everything was amazing. The fights were actually really good. So congratulations to Turki for footing the bill on this and making this celebration of the Mexican culture come to life.
“And Dana, I know this wasn’t your idea or vision. Nothing ever is at the UFC. You’re the Fertitta’s errand boy. But I’m always honest and fair, and I want to praise the production. UFC Noche was a good time and I really enjoyed it.”
Part of the production involved in UFC 306 was telling the history of Mexico through several vignettes played on Sphere’s screens. One chapter focused on Mexico’s history in combat sports, which even included De La Hoya.
But while De La Hoya enjoyed UFC 306, the same can’t be said for the Canelo vs. Berlanga fight. The bout received substantial criticism beforehand as Canelo was a massive favorite, and that bore out on Saturday night as Canelo won a wide unanimous decision, even dropping Berlanga in the third round.
Because Canelo was unable to finish Berlanga despite the perceived gap between them, De La Hoya excoriated the pound-for-pound standout.
“As far as the action, I called it in advance. Another fight that went the distance without any truly exciting moments,” De La Hoya said. “Berlanga didn’t win one round! He was never remotely in the fight from the first bell. Is this where boxing is going? The bar has been set so low that fans are just happy to see fighters last 12 rounds? What? Fighters are getting praised for simply going the distance with a 35-year-old Canelo who hasn’t knocked anybody out since 2021. Don’t you all want to see knockouts?
“I’m from a different time in this sport when fighters went to war in the ring. We wanted to destroy our opponents. I still took the [Manny] Pacquiao fight knowing my body was broken and old and I couldn’t beat him, but I was a warrior. I wanted to be a legend. It’s a different mentality, a champion’s mentality. Canelo wants to get paid. He avoids [Joseph] Benavidez and [Dmitry] Bivol who schooled him just like [Floyd] Mayweather. He wants to cruise easily into retirement.
“Where are the fighters who have balls? Don’t we want to see the best fight the best? Why are we, as boxing fans, accepting this low level competition and entertainment?”
De La Hoya previously promoted Alvarez until Canelo left Golden Boy Promotions in 2020. Earlier this year, Alvarez claimed De La Hoya stole money from his fighters which led De La Hoya to threaten legal action in return.