Oscar De La Hoya: Canelo Alvarez is back with HBO because it's what the fighter wanted

Oscar De La Hoya says he doesn't have any intention on no longer doing fights at Showtime, and that Canelo Alvarez returning to HBO is something that happened because Alvarez insisted on it, and De La Hoya chose to listen to his fighter's wishes over everything else:

"I have to do what Canelo asks me to do," De La Hoya said. "I'm not going to jeopardize my relationship with Canelo. The biggest factor for him was being second to nobody. So that's what I did -- I made the deal with HBO, where he won't be second. You're dealing with someone who is 24 years old. He's a superstar in Mexico and realizes his potential in the States. He has another 10 years to go, and he wants to capitalize as much as he can."

Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KO) will return to HBO airwaves with a non-PPV fight on December 6, with Joshua Clottey and James Kirkland both mentioned as possible opponents. Clottey appeared the frontrunner when the HBO deal was first announced, but Kirkland pulling out of a possible November 8 fight with Gabriel Rosado put him into the discussion, too. No fight has been signed either way, but should be soon, since we're just over two months out from that date.

De La Hoya is probably wise to listen to his biggest cash cow and keep his relationship with Alvarez strong. Canelo has some juice of his own, as he's got an actual promotional company in Mexico, and has a huge fan base that will follow whatever he does. With Golden Boy trying to get its ducks in a row in the post-Schaefer era, making Canelo happy has to be considered priority number one. And if he wants HBO, Oscar did the right thing getting him the HBO deal.