Dana White and Canelo Alvarez share more in common than fight fans might think.
On Saturday night, Canelo Alvarez outpointed William Scull to become a two-time undisputed super middleweight champion and set up an eagerly anticipated fight with Terence Crawford, which will take place on September 12 in Las Vegas.
Dana White’s key role in promoting the super fight with Turki Alalshikh angered a section of boxing fans.
However, the UFC boss and boxing biggest star are likely to bond over the fact they share a bitter hatred of boxing legend-turned-promoter Oscar De La Hoya, who has been publicly feuding with both men for years.
Photo by Francois Nel/Getty ImagesDana White’s beef with Oscar De La Hoya
Dana White has aimed many angry rants at the ‘scumbag’ boxing promoter during the past eight years.
The two men fell out when De La Hoya publicly criticized Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor in a series of interviews ahead of the August 2017 ‘Money Fight’.
White’s anger at the six-time world champion boxer reached new heights when he crossed over to MMA.
The 57-year-old was furious about De La Hoya bringing Chuck Liddlell out of his eight-year retirement for a trilogy fight with Tito Ortiz, which unsupringly ended in a first-round KO win for the ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’
Since then, the mere mention of De La Hoya’s name has been enough to ruin White’s night.
Most famously, the UFC CEO branded the Mexican boxing legend a ‘sack of s—‘ during a 15-minute rant days after the two men exchanged angry social media messages about fighter pay in September 2021.
“He is a lying, hypocritical, two-faced sack of s— and I hate him so much, that I love to prove he’s a lying, hypocritical, two-faced sack of s—,” White said before ripping off a load of facts about boxing vs MMA fighter pay.
He added: “I could go on, but I think we all get the f—ing point. He’s a liar. And there’s so much more on De La Hoya.
“The list goes on and on. Imagine if I still owed a fighter from f—ing a year ago, you would crucifix me on a daily basis. This guy, nobody gives a s—.
“And the only reason [I’m responding to him], I just despise him so bad that every time he f—ng lies, I point it out, and still people don’t give a s—.”
Canelo Alvarez hates his former promoter
De La Hoya worked as Canelo’s promoter for years before their bitter breakup in 2020.
Alvarez sued Golden Boy and his broadcast partner, alleging a breach of contract and seeking a minimum of $280 million in damages before all parties went their separate ways after an agreement was struck behind the scenes.
Like White, Canelo frequently explodes when asked questions about De La Hoya during interviews.
The former business partners have been taking shots at each other in the media for several years.
In May 2024, they reunited on stage and things got ugly as they tried to promote a fight between Canelo and De La Hoya’s latest Mexican superstar, Jaime Munguia.
The 52-year-old almost started a riot when he verbally attacked Canelo during a pre-fight press conference. Security had to intervene to stop the long-time enemies from settling their beef in front of the world’s media.
“He insulted me and I don’t want to permit that,” Alvarez said after the incident.
“I will [punch him]. If he came closer, I punch him. He’s a f—ing a–hole.
“He don’t care about his fighter because he tried to bring all the attention to him. He don’t care about Jaime Munguia, his best week, his best fight. He just cares about himself.”
“You will see. I’m gonna f*** that motherf—ing son of a b—-.”