Ahead of his fight on Saturday against Golden Boy Promotions' Jaime Munguia, super middleweight champion Canelo Álvarez took aim at his opponent's promoter, Oscar De La Hoya.
"He's a f--king assh--e. That's what I say. He's a f--king assh--e. He tries to get attention for him, not Munguia. He's a f--king assh--e. He steals [from his] fighters. F--king p---y. Motherf--ker," Álvarez said of De La Hoya during a pre-fight press conference on Wednesday (h/t TMZ).
Álvarez was previously promoted by De La Hoya under the Golden Boy banner for the majority of his career. He was released from his deal with the promotion in November 2020 after filing a lawsuit for breach of contract.
The outburst by Álvarez didn't come out of nowhere. Prior to his tirade, De La Hoya declared Golden Boy responsible for the 33-year-old's success.
"There were times my work wasn't my priority based on my mental health which I neglected for so long but that doesn't change the fact that Golden Boy built Canelo Álvarez, period," De La Hoya said, adding, "The company you fought under for decades has always had one name and it's mine so put some f--king respect on it."
Saturday's fight presents a dangerous matchup for Álvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs). Munguia has an undefeated record of 43-0 with 34 knockouts. The 27-year-old is one of the fastest-rising stars in boxing and is coming off a ninth-round TKO victory over John Ryder in January.
After falling to Dmitry Bivol two years ago in his attempt to move up a weight class and win the WBA light heavyweight title, Álvarez had rattled off three straight wins. He most recently defended his undisputed super middleweight title against Jermell Charlo with a unanimous decision win in September.
Many are excited about this summer's high-profile boxing match between the legendary Mike Tyson and YouTuber Jake Paul, but the former heavyweight champion received a warning from a fellow veteran.
When asked by TMZ about the upcoming fight between Tyson and Paul, Oscar De La Hoya expressed a sense of caution over the matchup that will feature a 31-year age gap.
"I'm gonna pray for Mike Tyson, 'cause I love Mike Tyson," De La Hoya said. "I think Jake Paul, look, he's a real fighter. He really is. It's a dangerous fight. Mike Tyson, be careful, please."
Tyson will be 58 years old when he faces the 27-year-old Paul on July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The fight, which will be streamed live on Netflix, features the largest age difference in boxing history.
Tyson last fought in November 2020 in an exhibition match against Roy Jones Jr., which ended in a split draw. Paul is coming off a first-round knockout win over Ryan Bourland in early March.
Many have criticized the matchup, but De La Hoya doesn't believe Tyson's fight against Paul will tarnish his legacy.
"No, Mike Tyson is cemented, legacy, forever," De La Hoya said. "Mike Tyson will be the man forever."
Vergil Ortiz Jr. has pulled out of his WBA welterweight title bout against champion Eimantas Stanionis after reportedly being hospitalized.
Golden Boy Promotions released an official statement confirming the news on the fight, which was scheduled for Saturday.
Boxing journalist Dan Rafael provided more details on Ortiz, who reportedly fainted in the lead-up to the bout:
The 28-year-old Stanionis is 14-0 with nine knockouts. The 25-year-old Ortiz has won all 19 of his fights by knockout.
This isn't the first time the bout has been postponed, according to ESPN's Mike Coppinger:
"This is the third postponement for Ortiz-Stanionis. The fight featuring two of ESPN's top-5 welterweights was set for March 18 before Stanionis, 28, underwent an emergency appendectomy in January in Lithuania. A second postponement came when Ortiz, 25, dealt with a recurrence of rhabdomyolysis, pushing the fight from its April 29 date."
Ortiz told ESPN in May that he recovered from rhabdomyolysis after first being diagnosed with long COVID. Coppinger also reported that Ortiz was having trouble making weight for this fight.
The event will still go on with Floyd Schofield now stepping into the main event against Haskell Rhodes in a 10-round lightweight fight at AT&T Center in San Antonio.
Schofield, 20, is 14-0 as a professional. Rhodes sports a 28-4-1 record.
Earlier this year, Oscar De La Hoya expressed the desire to end his long feud with UFC President Dana White. While White was willing to accept De La Hoya's apology, he said he has no intentions of rekindling their friendship.
"I feel like De La Hoya’s apology was sincere, but there’s no way that he and I can ever be friends again,” White said during a fan Q&A with GQ Sports (h/t Jed Meshew of MMA Fighting). “He and I were actually friends. I used to go to his fights. I used to watch his fights. I used to promote his fights. That guy did way too much damage for us to ever be friends again. I appreciate his apology. I get it. We’re cool, but we’re never going to be that cool."
White and De La Hoya's feud dates back to the 2017 fight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather, which White helped co-promote. De La Hoya said the matchup was "disrespecting the sport of boxing," which obviously didn't sit well with White and sparked their rivalry.
De La Hoya had challenged White to a fight several times during their back-and-forth. White has said a slew of disparaging remarks about the former boxing world champion over the years.
A woman who filed a civil suit against the Casa Mexico Tequila company said former boxer Oscar De La Hoya sexually assaulted her twice.
Steve Henson of the Los Angeles Times reported the allegations were one of 10 causes of action in the suit that was filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. She also said she faced sexual harassment, retaliation, gender discrimination and wrongful termination.
De La Hoya, who retired from boxing in 2008, is a partner with Casa Mexico Tequila.
The woman said De La Hoya first sexually assaulted her in March 2020 when they were both on a trip to Mexico to visit the company's distillery. He allegedly came to her hotel room "with his pants dropped down to his ankles, then pushed his way into the room, and got into her bed."
While she said she "pushed him from the bed and walked him to his room, opened his door, and immediately returned to her own room," the boxer allegedly "pulled [her] into his bed, where he sexually assaulted her" the next morning when she went to wake him because he wasn't present for a scheduled tour of the distillery.
The woman said the second assault occurred after returning from the trip and when a group of the company's executives went to De La Hoya's house after dinner.
"At some point, when De La Hoya was alone with [the woman], he revealed and retrieved a sexual object from a stored collection in his house. Without [her] consent, De La Hoya forcibly inserted the sexual object into [her] body," the lawsuit reads.
The woman said no actions were taken after she reported the second assault to company founder Don Buccio.
De La Hoya reached an out-of-court settlement after a woman filed a civil lawsuit in 1998 and said he raped and imprisoned her more than two years earlier in Mexico. Mexican authorities investigated and did not file criminal charges.
Errol Spence Jr. (27-0, 21 KOs) will look to add a third welterweight title to his collection when he takes on Yordenis Ugas (27-4, 12 KOs) in a pay-per-view unification bout on Saturday in Arlington, Texas.
Spence, 32, has held the IBF world title at 147 pounds since 2017. He added the WBC belt with a win over Shawn Porter in September 2019.
Ugas, 35, became the WBA champion after beating Abel Ramos in September 2020. He retained the title with an upset win over Manny Pacquiao in August of last year. That career-defining victory is all the more remarkable considering Ugas was a late replacement for Spence, who had to withdraw from the bout after suffering a torn retina in training.
With eye surgery and the subsequent recovery well behind him, Spence is ready to solidify his status as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the game. Ugas has a chance to pull off yet another stunner as a heavy underdog.
Spence vs. Ugas Fight Info
When: Saturday, April 16, at 7 p.m. ET (main event 11 p.m. ET)
Where: AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas
TV: Showtime PPV
Live stream: SHO.com PPV ($74.99)
Odds: Spence -550 (bet $550 to win $100), Ugas +400 (bet $100 to win $400)
Odds via Draftkings Sportsbook
Preview, Predictions
For years now, Spence has been one of the most entertaining fighters around. He expertly blends power and precision, has excellent defensive skills and knows how to pounce when he senses weakness in an opponent. Unfortunately, boxing fans haven't seen much of him lately.
Due to the aforementioned eye injury and a car crash in October 2019, Spence has only fought once since winning the WBC title. That lone fight was a unanimous-decision win over Danny Garcia in December 2020. Spence's body has been under quite a bit of stress over the past couple years and he's lacked ring time, but he's confident he still has what it takes to dominate.
"This layoff was easier for me after the injury than the one after the accident because it was a lot less stress on my body," Spence told reporters. "Mentally I was also prepared for what I was going to go through. I had been back in training before camp started for this fight so I'm ready."
Spence should provide the toughest challenge yet for Ugas, who has wanted to make this fight happen for some time. If the crafty Cuban is going to pull off another upset, he's going to need to take his game to a new level.
In the win over Pacquiao, Ugas was able to plant himself in the middle of the ring and pick off the smaller fighter as he darted in to attack. He found a home with the right hand often and asserted himself in the later rounds when the then-42-year-old Pacquiao's legs started to get heavy.
Ugas probably can't count on fatigue against Spence, and the come-and-get-it strategy he likes to employ might need some tweaking too. Spence is an inch taller than Ugas at 5'10" and has a three-inch reach advantage (72" to 69", per BoxRec). The American is also a heavier hitter, which could make too much standing and trading dangerous for Ugas.
Indeed, Ugas seems to be aware of the danger, acknowledging his opponent "has an aggressive mentality where he's always coming forward" while adding that he has "some new things to showcase because that's the way I do things," per Ring's Joseph Santoliquito.
Spence has perhaps been more careful in his approach in the past couple of years, as the southpaw's last three fights have all gone to the cards (prior to that, he had a string of 11 straight stoppages). That doesn't mean his punches don't sting, as anyone who saw his dominant win over Mikey Garcia can attest. Whether it's a shot to the head or a hook into the ribcage, Ugas will have to be ready for some punishment.
There's certainly a path to victory for Ugas, provided he can neutralize Spence's jab and generate his own offense. Few experts seem to think he'll find that path, though. Ring polled 20 boxing observers on their predictions, and 19 were in favor of Spence.
This fight has the potential for some great drama, especially if Spence is rusty, but look for the undefeated boxer to once again come out on top.
Prediction: Spence by unanimous decision
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Terence "Bud" Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) will put his WBO welterweight title on the line for the fifth time on Saturday night when he takes on two-time welterweight champion Shawn Porter (31-3-1, 17 KOs) in a pay-per-view bout at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
Crawford, 34, has been at or near the top of the major pound-for-pound rankings for several years. He was a world champion at lightweight and then an undisputed junior welterweight champion before moving up to his current perch at 147 pounds. His talent is undeniable, but many feel his resume is lacking because he hasn't fought many marquee names and lacks a signature win. Taking on Porter is a big step toward changing that perception.
Porter, also 34, isn't as highly regarded as Crawford, but there's no doubting his quality. He's taken on the likes of Errol Spence Jr., Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia and a prime Adrien Broner. Win or lose, Porter's aggressive and sometimes awkward style forces his opponents to use every ounce of their skill. His fight against Crawford shouldn't be any different.
Crawford vs. Porter Fight Info
When: Saturday, Nov. 20 at 9 p.m. ET (main card)
Where: Michelob Ultra Arena, Las Vegas
How to Watch: ESPN+ pay-per-view (US), Sky Sports Main Event (UK)
Odds: Crawford -700 (bet $700 to win $100), Porter +500 (bet $100 to win $500)
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
Preview and Prediction
In 13 years as a professional, no one has been able to solve the challenge posed by Crawford in the ring. The Omaha, Nebraska, native is as slick and as skillful as they come.
His fights often start slowly, with Crawford patiently reading his opponent's patterns and getting his own timing down. When he's ready to go to work, he can be exacting and relentless. Crawford has an eight-fight stoppage streak, and there's a variety to his finishes. He dispatched Julius Indongo with a body punch, used a vicious right uppercut to set up a finish against Jose Benavidez Jr. and, in his most recent fight, pummeled Kell Brook with a volley of punches to the head.
If his power and accuracy weren't enough, Crawford can also go from southpaw to orthodox as easy as flipping a light switch, a talent he used to great effect in a TKO win over Egidijus Kavaliauskas in 2019.
So even though Crawford hasn't always had the best opposition, there's plenty of support for his status as a top pound-for-pound fighter. That doesn't mean he's going to be overly confident against Porter on Saturday, though. Crawford is well aware of the threat posed by the challenger.
"I respect everything Shawn does," said Crawford, per Bad Left Hook's Scott Christ. "He's athletic, he can box, he can bang. He can move around the ring and cut corners, take angles. I'm not gonna sit here and say I don't respect anything he does. I just think I do a lot of things better than Shawn."
If there's a fighter out there who can disrupt Crawford's precise calculations, it's Porter. He's happy to come forward and get into big exchanges. He can also make it tough for opponents to get into a rhythm with clinching and a nose for close-range combat. According to ESPN Stats & Information (h/t ESPN's Ben Baby), Crawford's last five opponents have averaged 36 punches per round, while Porter averages 54 punches per round.
"I live in disrupting your living," Shawn Porter told reporters earlier in November. "I live in figuring out what makes you uncomfortable."
If Porter can make the fight difficult and uncomfortable for Crawford from the start, he will have a shot at winning. Crawford probably has the deeper bag of tricks fighting at a distance, so Porter could have a hard time swaying the judges if that's how the fight plays out.
It's entirely possible Porter looks like the better fighter for a few rounds and pushes Crawford to the edge of his ability. However, Crawford has been in a few firefights in the past and is as calm as they come in the ring. Eventually, he will figure out how to slow down Porter and will land the more impressive punches. However, his stoppage streak might come to an end, as Porter has only been knocked down twice in his career and has always made it to the final bell.
Prediction: Crawford by unanimous decision.
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Yordenis Ugas put on a clinic in the biggest win of his career to date, utilizing a fantastic jab and nullifying Manny Pacquiao's attacks en route to winning by unanimous decision Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The judges scored the bout 115-113, 116-112, 116-112 in favor of Ugas, who was a late replacement for the injured Errol Spence Jr.
Even though the crowd was on Pacquiao's side for most of the fight, CBS Sports' Brian Campbell felt the judges made the right decision:
Ugas retained the WBA world welterweight title with the win. The belt had been awarded to him after the WBA stripped the title from Pacquiao earlier this year because of inactivity. On Saturday, Ugas showed he was a worthy successor.
Pacquiao, 42, was the far more aggressive fighter, doing everything he could to get into close range and string together combinations. Ugas was steadfast in his approach, controlling distance with the jab and countering with his accurate right hand.
The punch stats reflect those approaches, as CompuBox showed:
Pacquiao threw twice as many punches as Ugas but was far less accurate. The Cuban did a good job of either blocking the legend's shots or firing off a jab so that he could get back to a more comfortable distance.
Ugas, 35 also picked his spots well, landing 59 percent of his power punches over the 12 rounds. Those power shots became more apparent in the later rounds, when he took advantage of Pacquiao's fatigue and landed repeatedly with his right hand.
According to ESPN Philippines' Carlo Pamintuan, Ugas' performance was a textbook example of how to handle a southpaw like Pacquiao:
This exchange from the third round shows how even when Pacquiao was able to get Ugas on to the ropes, the crafty Cuban was able to create space and move back to the center, as shared by Fox Sports PBC:
Pacquiao did have his moments, such as at the end of the fifth round. Even in those instances, though, Ugas was able to make the most of his punches.
Boxing trainer and ESPN analyst Teddy Atlas praised Ugas' strategy and tactics:
It was a spirited performance from Pacquiao, but he couldn't overcome age and ring rust. His previous fight was more than two years ago, a split-decision win over Keith Thurman, and it seems like some of his speed (both hands and feet) diminished in that time. When asked on the Fox Sports pay-per-view broadcast whether he was planning on retiring after the loss, Pacquiao said "I don't know."
As for Ugas, he's in a good spot to try to put together a lucrative title-unification bout, either against Spence or Terence "Bud" Crawford. He has some name recognition after beating Pacquiao and would be wise to try to capitalize on that as soon as a top-tier opponent becomes available.
Yordenis Ugas saw an opportunity, took it and changed his life forever.
Ugas was brought in as a late replacement to fight Manny Pacquiao on Saturday night on a pay-per-view card after the boxing icon's original opponent, Errol Spence Jr., was diagnosed with an eye injury and forced to withdraw. Not only did Ugas show courage in taking on Pacquiao, but he was also able to win the fight by unanimous decision and retain his WBA world welterweight title.
The judges scored the bout 115-113, 116-112, 116-112 in favor of Ugas, who dictated the fight from the beginning. He planted himself in the center of the ring, using his length to keep Pacquiao at bay. His jab was strong and accurate, and he did a fine job of using it to set up combinations.
Even at 42, Pacquiao's hand speed was impressive. He threw more punches than Ugas and did well to keep up the pressure, especially early on. However, Father Time seems to have finally started catching up with him. Pacquiao's legs weren't quite there in the latter stages of the fight, and he struggled to find consistent openings.
It was a disappointing result yet entertaining fight for the pro-Pacquiao crowd at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Pacquiao's ring walk was the first highlight of the evening, as he strutted to the ring with "Eye of the Tiger" blaring over the speakers.
Between the ropes, it was Pacquiao forcing the action and Ugas doing an excellent job of taking what was given to him. The first two rounds saw Ugas essentially batting away the feisty Pacquiao with his long left hand. He didn't waver and got the results he wanted.
The third round saw Pacquiao finally find a crack in Ugas' armor. Here's a look at the exchange, via Fox Sports PBC:
Another big exchange came at the end of the fifth round. Pacquiao loaded up on the Cuban but again struggled to make meaningful connection. Still, it was another sign that he was getting his timing down after struggling mightily in the first two rounds. Here's the action, as shared by Fox Sports PBC:
Again, there were plenty of strong moments from Pacquiao, but this was Ugas' show. He was feeling it and did a little celebrating following the seventh frame:
To his credit, Pacquiao kept coming after Ugas. Here's a look at a late combination that did some damage:
Ugas did plenty of his own damage, however, rocking Pacquiao in the later rounds with some great one-two combinations. Pacquiao struggled at times to get away from Ugas' right hand. When it was all said and done, Ugas got the deserved win and retained the WBA title, which belonged to Pacquiao before the WBA stripped him of the belt at the start of the year for inactivity.
Coming into this bout, many wondered whether this would be Pacquiao's last fight. He said he wasn't ready to make a decision right then and there, per Fox Sports PBC:
Ugas, 35, is a veteran fighter who's had a solid career but never quite caught on as a big name. He has a chance at cashing in now after defeating Pacquiao, who could end up retiring after the eighth loss of his brilliant career. After the bout, Ugas said he would like to take on Spence in a title-unification fight. He's earned the opportunity with a strong performance on the biggest stage of his career.
