Oscar De La Hoya has called for the immediate cancellation, or relocation, of Canelo Alvarez’s October 31 WBC super-middleweight title challenge against Christian Mbilli, citing severe safety concerns over staging the event in Riyadh.
Despite recent unrest in the region, organisers insisted that Alvarez intends to proceed with his comeback clash against the champion.
Posting on social media, De La Hoya challenged the decision to press on.
“[Turki Alalshikh] says Canelo has no fear. Well, Canelo might not have any fear because he’s flying into a private airport, but what about everyone else associated with the event? They’re scared s***less”.
The Golden Boy promoter pointed to the postponement of other sporting fixtures in the Saudi capital to argue that the boxing schedule should follow suit.
“Look, Riyadh already moved the tennis event that was scheduled for next week,” De La Hoya said. “So, do the right thing and move this event”.
De La Hoya expressed disbelief that the card remains intact, admitting he would outright refuse to make the trip under the current circumstances.
“How is this event not cancelled? It’s a fing enormous safety concern,” De La Hoya added. “Look, as a fighter, I’ll be honest with you – there is no way in hell I’d be going over there with this st going on. How is this event not cancelled? It’s a f*king enormous safety concern.”
As of writing, the event remains scheduled, however, after the latest attacks on Riyadh’s King Khalid airport by Yemen’s Houthi forces, calls are growing for it to be moved or postponed.
