Oscar De La Hoya may have accidentally unlocked ‘Heel Canelo’ in

After establishing himself for over a decade atop the sport as one of the biggest pay per-view stars and best pound-for-pound fighters of this century, boxing fans have become accustomed to the professional demeanor and mild-mannered confidence that Mexican icon Canelo Alvarez carries. 

But if you’ve watched closely ahead of the build to Saturday’s PBC on Prime Video PPV in Las Vegas (8 p.m. ET, including simulcast on DAZN PPV), where Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) defends his undisputed 168-pound championship against Jaime Munguia (43-0, 34 KOs) inside T-Mobile Arena, it’s clear that Alvarez is fighting against much more than his polite Mexican countryman. 

Two new opponents have entered the scene amid Alvarez’s bi-annual residency in Sin City, where he typically headlines massive events each May and September, to celebrate the traditional holidays of Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day, respectively. 

This time, Alvarez finds himself in constant need to defend himself, not just against the court of public opinion, which has reluctantly labeled him a ducker for avoiding a can’t-miss clash against two-time super middleweight champion David Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs), but in the face of his former promoter, Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy, who finds himself across the ring from Alvarez (as the co-promoter of Munguia) for the first time since their bitter 2020 divorce.  

In fact, the ongoing feud against De La Hoya bubbled over during Wednesday’s final press conference in unpredictable ways as the Hall-of-Fame boxer openly took credit for carefully building Alvarez to the global star he has become today while Alvarez uncharacteristically clapped back by accusing De La Hoya of stealing money from him (along with reminding the boxing world of his ex-promoter’s multiple public missteps in recent years).

While De La Hoya’s boldness was almost certainly aimed at attempting to distract…