De La Hoya: I won’t do a deal with Arum or Hearn for Canelo

Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya will reportedly take his time in shopping an outlet for Canelo Alvarez’s next fight against Rocky Fielding, according to an ESPN report. Alvarez, who has fought exclusively on HBO for the past few years, has essentially completed his contract with the network (although HBO still holds an option on Canelo’s next bout). But with HBO fleeing the boxing scene, it’s probably unlikely they match Canelo’s best offer.

So in the meantime De La Hoya says he’ll continue to take offers until he meets with HBO executives in the coming weeks. But in response to offers from Bob Arum and Eddie Hearn, who both have affiliated platforms — ESPN and DAZN, respectively — De La Hoya says that he will not be entertaining any co-promotional pitches.

“We understand we have a contract [option] with HBO but we’ve been approached by many platforms. Everyone wants to televise Canelo’s next fight, whether it’s on a digital platform or linear TV. And contrary to reports that are circulating, under no circumstances will we co-promote Canelo. Golden Boy is his promoter and we will continue to work to get Canelo the best deal possible.”

“I won’t do a deal with Bob Arum or a deal with Eddie Hearn for Canelo,” De La Hoya said. “I’m going to go directly to the [platform] and make a deal. I don’t need another promoter. We are the promoter of the biggest star on the planet.”

Yet with Canelo-Fielding having already been announced for Dec. 15, De La Hoya will probably want to iron out Canelo’s platform situation as quickly as possible. He says he’ll be making a big announcement within a few weeks.