CANELO BREAKS FREE
De La Hoya loses his cash cow but plots his own return while bad boys Davis and Broner find themselves in hot water, writes George Gigney
But Davis and Broner are facing trouble
AS celebrations spread in countless areas of America in response to the news that Joe Biden will be the next President of the United States, so too did boxing fans rejoice at the news that Canelo Alvarez will likely be returning to action sooner than previously thought.
Embroiled in legal disputes with his long-time promoters Golden Boy and fledgling broadcaster DAZN, it seemed Canelo would be sidelined for some time. However his trainer and manager, Eddy Reynoso, released a statement announcing that Canelo is now a free agent. The statement also suggests that Canelo will fight before the year is out, with details to be announced “soon.”
With this move, Canelo made himself the most sought-after commodity in combat sports; it will be interesting to see who he aligns with, at least for this next fight. ESPN reported that the flame-haired Mexican is eyeing up current IBF super-middleweight champion Caleb Plant, who fights on PBC. That could see Alvarez fight on FOX in the US, or maybe even Showtime. It’s a good fight and could see Canelo pick up an IBF title at 168lbs.
In a separate statement, Golden Boy’s Oscar De La Hoya confirmed the split and pledged their commitment to DAZN. There’s no shying away from it; this is a huge blow to both Golden Boy and DAZN. Yes, the promotional outfit has promising young fighters like Ryan Garcia and Vergil Ortiz Jnr on their books, but they no longer have a bonafide superstar to bolster their revenue.
Likewise, while DAZN clearly has plenty of top-tier talent to broadcast, in this era of Covid-19 they need guaranteed returns on their significant investments - Canelo is one of a very select group who can make such guarantees. He is the sort of fighter who will significantly change the fortunes of whichever broadcaster he moves to.
In the afterglow of his best win to date, and arguably the knockout of the year, Gervonta Davis has found himself in yet more trouble outside the ring. CBS Baltimore reported that the 25-year-old was involved in a hit-and-run incident in the south of the city.
“Police officers called to the scene for a report of a multi-vehicle collision. They found several people suffering from minor injuries and one person was taken to an area hospital for treatment, according to their report,” the article reads. “According to police, a vehicle ran through a red light and struck another vehicle, then left the scene.”
Thought it hasn’t been confirmed by police it was definitely Davis driving the lamborghini which caused the incident, sources claimed this to be the case to CBS Baltimore. Davis’ representatives declined to give comment to TMZ, who report that Davis was out celebrating his win over Leo Santa Cruz.
This, of course, would not be the first time Davis has brushed with the law - not even the first time this year, in fact. For all his talent, and for all the promotional support behind him, Davis cannot seem to seem to break free from the shackles of his past and the neighbourhood he grew up in. Even his mentor, Floyd Mayweather, has pleaded with him to stay away from Baltimore for the sake of his career. It seems he’s still unwilling to listen.
Another former Mayweather protege, Adrien Broner, was jailed and subsequently released over the past week for contempt of court. Broner had been ordered to pay $800,000 to a woman he forcibly kissed in a
nightclub in 2018.
Broner had claimed he only had $18 to his name and so was unable to make the necessary payments. However, on Instagram, he was handling wads of cash and flaunting his wealth. Unsurprisingly, the judge was not impressed, and if Broner does not provide the relevant information of his finances, he’ll be back in jail.
It seems pointless to discuss Broner in these pages given that he hasn’t fought since his one-sided loss to Manny Pacquiao in January 2019, but he claimed to the judge that he’ll be fighting in January of next year for a purse that will settle the payments he owes.
It was bad enough when Broner was clearly just fighting for a paycheck - who knows what it’ll look like if he’s fighting just to keep himself out of jail.
So De La Hoya is still planning on making some sort of comeback, and it could be against … Marcos Maidana. According to Boxingscene, De La Hoya and his team have approached Maidana, who retired in 2014 but is also planning on returning to the ring.
This bad idea just keeps getting worse De La Hoya hasn’t been hit in earnest since 2008, and now he wants to trade blows with a thunderous puncher like Maidana? OK, the Argentinian hasn’t seen action in a while either, but power is always the last thing to go.
It seems as though UFC President Dana White is finally ready to make his move into boxing, under the Zuffa Boxing promotional company. According to Journal de
Montreal, White will promote a December 11 card topped by an undisputed superwelterweight title clash between Claressa Shields and Marie-eve Dicaire. The show will reportedly be shown on UFC Fight Pass, the UFC’S online subscription service.
It’s not exactly a huge splash into the sport, but White’s entrance on the scene could have wide repercussions for the sport. He and his team have been planning the move for a while, so they will have a clear plan, but with so many big players in the market already, how much of an impact can they have?
The UFC is a juggernaut success, mainly because it holds a monopoly on all the top mixed-martial arts talent across the globe. To replicate that in boxing will not be easy, or maybe even possible.