De La Hoya demands Canelo vs Mbilli be moved out of Riyadh
Promoter Oscar De La Hoya wants the October 31 WBC title fight relocated after the attacks on Riyadh's airport. For now, the date stands.
Archive image · Photo: DEWALT POWER TOOLS FIGHT NIGHT CLUB 2010 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (cropped and resized)
In his “Clap Back Thursdays” post on X, Oscar De La Hoya called for the fight between Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez and WBC world champion Christian Mbilli to be moved out of Riyadh. “How is this event not canceled? It's a f***ing enormous safety concern,” he said, according to Boxing 24/7, adding he was “extremely surprised” Canelo had not cancelled it himself.
The background is the attacks on the Saudi capital's airport; the Six Kings Slam tennis exhibition has already been pushed back to late December. Canelo vs Mbilli, however, remains scheduled for October 31.
Boxing 24/7 notes that De La Hoya, who used to promote Canelo, has a history with him that could colour his criticism. His claim that Turki Alalshikh and the agency SELA “bought off most of the media in boxing” is an unsubstantiated allegation.