Golden Boy’s Oscar De La Hoya calls Canelo-Khan ‘a great fight’
“Did you see the sign?”
Oscar De La Hoya was referring to the banner that adorns the east facade of the MGM Grand promoting the World Boxing Council middleweight championship fight between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Amir Khan on May 7 at T-Mobile Arena.
The sign replaces the one of Floyd Mayweather Jr. that had been in the spot for years.
“It’s twice the size (of Mayweather’s),” said De La Hoya, the CEO and chairman of Golden Boy Promotions. “And we didn’t have to pay for our own sign. The sponsors paid for it.”
It’s not often De La Hoya gets to gloat at Mayweather’s expense. But as promoter of the Canelo-Khan fight, which will be televised on HBO Pay Per View, he is trying to sell a fight many believe is a mismatch. Alvarez is a 5-1 favorite in Las Vegas sports books.
“Have you seen how big and strong Amir Khan is?” said De La Hoya, who was in Las Vegas on Wednesday to attend the National Association of Broadcasters convention. “He’s a dangerous opponent for Canelo. He’s got the speed in which to beat him, and if he uses that speed and fights a smart fight, he absolutely can win.”
This fight is as much about De La Hoya’s company making a comeback as it is about its star fighter. The acrimonious split with president Richard Schaefer two years ago, the loss of fighters such as Leo Santa Cruz to the Premier Boxing Champions and streamlining his company tested De La Hoya, who has battled substance abuse over the years.
There was skepticism that De La Hoya couldn’t stay clean long enough to run the company. But today all appears well at Golden Boy. De La Hoya said he feels great. He has enough good young fighters along with Alvarez to do business with HBO. He has people working for him that he trusts. And with T-Mobile Arena open, De La Hoya said Las Vegas will be a destination for Golden Boy in the future.
“It gives us the flexibility and opportunity to do more events here,” he said. “We’re really excited about being the first fight in T-Mobile. It’s always special when you’re the first to do something, and I think Canelo realizes how big this is to be headlining the first boxing card in the new arena.”
De La Hoya said more than 14,000 tickets have been sold, and T-Mobile, which can accommodate 20,000 for boxing, will be scaled back to about 18,000 for May 7. He said he thinks the fight will sell out.
That prospect has him excited. So does May 6, the day of the Alvarez-Khan weigh-in that will be outdoors in Toshiba Plaza. Afterward, Golden Boy will host a free fight card that features Marvin Quintero vs. Petr Petrov for the North American Boxing Federation lightweight title.
“It’s all about promoting Saturday’s card,” De La Hoya said. “We want to get people to come to the weigh-in, and if we can get them to stay for the fights after, maybe we can get them to buy tickets for Saturday. Or at least buy the pay per view.”
De La Hoya insists the fight that boxing wants to see — Alvarez vs. fellow middleweight champ Gennady Golovkin — will happen. But he’s not sure it will be in 2016. Golovkin will defend his belts Saturday against Dominic Wade at the Forum in Inglewood, California.
“A fight like that, you want to build up and make it the greatest fight ever,” De La Hoya said. “There’s no doubt in my mind it will happen. But you have to let it marinate a little. Just not too long.”
Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow on Twitter: @stevecarprj
