Oscar De La Hoya praised UFC 306 but still had time to attack Dana White and Canelo Alvarez verbally.
The Golden Boy promoter ruffled a few feathers when he stated that he would be attending UFC 306. De La Hoya and White have not had the best relationship, having exchanged verbals for years. The tension started when De La Hoya opposed Floyd Mayweather’s boxing Conor McGregor. But Oscar then revealed that he would love to see Canelo take on McGregor, which riled up White.
During this period, White spoke on De La Hoya’s prior substance abuse issues. Meanwhile, De La Hoya has also commented publicly about Dana White’s infamous incident where he slapped his wife at a New Year’s Eve party.
Oscar De La Hoya’s reasoning for attending UFC 306 was that he was dissatisfied with Canelo boxing bout with Edgar Berlanga. He was critical about the $89.99 PPV price for the event. He went on to call the bout a snoozefest, as his attention turned towards The Sphere.
Oscar De La Hoya On Dana White
Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili headlined the UFC 306 card. Merab won the bout by a unanimous decision to become the new UFC Bantamweight Champion. The event cost $20 million and set a new UFC live gate record of $22 million. Based on what he had seen, De La Hoya had nothing but praise for the production. However, he still took some time out to fire verbal shots at Dana, stating that the CEO of the UFC was merely an errand boy who was not the brains behind the production.
“UFC Noche. I was true to my word. I did attend last Saturday. [And] I sat in [Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority] Turki [Alalshikh’s] box upstairs and I have to be honest with you, it was beautiful. It was spectacular. It looked really cool.
“The production value was there, everything was amazing. The fights were actually really good. So congratulations to Turki for footing the bill on this and making this celebration of the Mexican culture come to life. And Dana, I know this wasn’t your idea or vision. Nothing ever is at the UFC. You’re the Fertitta’s errand boy. But I’m always honest and fair, and I want to praise the production. UFC Noche was a good time and I really enjoyed it,” De La Hoya
Oscar De La Hoya On Canelo Alvarez
Oscar De La Hoya then turned his attention towards Canelo. The fight sold 650,000 PPV, bringing in a live gate of $17 million. The fight reportedly earned Canelo around $35 million. It was a one-sided unanimous decision win, with Berlanga offering little in return. While he made it to the final bell, it was merely a case of survival mode. The fight played out as expected, with De La Hoya justifying his pre-fight comments.
“Berlanga didn’t win one round! He was never remotely in the fight from the first bell. Is this where boxing is going? The bar has been set so low that fans are just happy to see fighters last 12 rounds? What? Fighters are getting praised for simply going the distance with a 35-year-old Canelo who hasn’t knocked anybody out since 2021. Don’t you all want to see knockouts?” Oscar De La Hoya added