Oscar De La Hoya has questioned the general consensus that Canelo Alvarez is a Mexican boxing legend following his unanimous decision victory over Christian Mbilli.
The 36-year-old reclaimed his WBC title last Saturday, having lost his undisputed super-middleweight crown in his previous outing, against Terence Crawford, in September 2025.
Following that defeat, many wondered whether Canelo could succeed again at world level but, sure enough, he did just that by dethroning Mbilli.
Not only did he claim a convincing points victory, but the Mexican contained Mbilli’s aggression and controlled the majority of their contest with superior technical and defensive skills.
This, however, was not quite enough to satisfy his former promoter, De La Hoya, who has suggested that Canelo’s low punch output made for a largely tedious affair.
As per his semi-regular social media series, Clapback Thursday, the Hall of Famer also undermined Canelo’s widely-accepted legacy as a Mexican great.
“I’m so f**king tired of 100 punches [being] thrown in a fight with no action whatsoever, and I know the fans are over it.
“We all miss those days of [Marco Antonio] Barrera, [Erik] Morales [and] Julio Cesar Chavez – that’s what Mexican boxing is known for.
“Canelo, do you try to proclaim you’re the best Mexican fighter ever? You couldn’t hold Chavez’ jockstrap. And I can name 10 other Mexican fighters who are way better boxers than you are. And they didn’t sell-out to fight in front of 15 people in Saudi Arabia.”
In fairness, Canelo has never proclaimed to be the greatest Mexican fighter in history, though most would argue he deserves to be considered in an all-time top 10.
