OSCAR DE LA HOYA RESPONDS TO THE CANELO LAWSUIT AGAINST HIS COMPANY & DAZN
Reported By Real Combat Media & Boxing Scene
Los Angeles, CA (September 10th, 2020)– On Tuesday, boxing biggest star Canelo Alvarez who is suing for breach of contract, intentional interference with a contract, negligent interference with a contract, fraud and breach of fiduciary duty, among other allegations, is seeking damages of at least $280 million which is the remainder of what he is owed under the five-year, 11-fight, $365 million deal he signed in late 2018. Canelo is also seeking punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, costs of the suit and “a judicial determination that he is eligible to participate in bouts arranged and promoted by entities other than Golden Boy Promotions and broadcast by entities other than DAZN.”
“In my mind Canelo is willing to fight anyone, obviously, the way he’s proved it many times in his career. He’s willing to fight Billy Joe Saunders; he’s willing to fight Callum Smith. My frustration is DAZN,” De La Hoya told BoxingScene.com in an interview on Tuesday night, just a couple of hours before he learned of the lawsuit. “My frustration is the obligation that DAZN has to its fans and to Canelo.
“Another frustration is DAZN’s obligation to live up to a contract that they signed. That’s a huge frustration. That’s a huge deal breaker for us. That’s where the frustration is. How can you fight a top-level opponent like Callum Smith, an elite opponent like Callum Smith and Billy Joe Saunders, and then have DAZN not live by their contract? It doesn’t make sense to me and that’s where the frustration is.”
De La Hoya declined to get into specifics of what DAZN was offering but said, “They’re not living up to their contract.”
BoxingScene.com sources said that DAZN would do a fight between Alvarez and Smith or Saunders but for less than half of what Alvarez is due under the agreement. Alvarez would also be taking a hit on his money because the fight would take place without ticket-buying fans due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re obviously hoping we get back to normal very soon and we can hopefully have gate revenue as soon as possible, but we figured it out,” De La Hoya said of being able to do an Alvarez fight without a crowd. “The only worry I have is DAZN living up its contract.”
“If anyone tells me Callum Smith or Billy Joe Saunders are not premium fighters I must be crazy,” De La Hoya said. “I must not know boxing. I must not have been in boxing for 35 years. Let’s get this going. Live up to your contract. Let’s get three great fights – Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders, GGG. Whatever order. Let’s get it going. Let’s do it. We’re waiting for you (DAZN),”
De La Hoya insisted the fight with Golovkin would have happened this month had it not been for the coronavirus pandemic.
“That fight was going to happen,” De La Hoya said. “Canelo is willing to fight the very best and he does that because he respects the fans. He does that because he wants to be great.”
“It’s a frustration because we have 80-plus fighters. We have several world champions who are not fighting,” De La Hoya said. “But the truth of the matter is people want to see Canelo fight. That’s the bottom line. They want to see the biggest star in boxing fight on DAZN and people are getting fed up. I want to deliver the best fights possible.”
DAZN so far has declined to comment.
“If I have a contract and if I don’t live it up to it what’s going to happen? And, yes, we don’t want to litigate. That’s the last resort. That’s not even a resort for us,” De La Hoya said. “We’ve been great partners, yes, they’ve been great partners. We just want to get a fight going. The fans deserve it.”
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