Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, is furious over the IBF's decision to strip Canelo Alvarez of his middleweight title.
Canelo won the title back in May, when he won a twelve round unanimous decision over Daniel Jacobs.
The sanctioning body would then order him to make a mandatory defense against Sergiy Derevyanchenko.
But the negotiations with Derevyanchenko's handlers fell apart on Thursday, and now Derevyanchenko will likely face Gennady Golovkin for the vacant belt.
Ironically Golovkin was stripped of the title in 2018, for failing to face Derevyancehnko in a mandatory fight. He instead fought Canelo in a rematch, while Derevyanchenko lost a decision to Jacobs in a battle for the vacant belt.
Canelo still holds the WBC and WBA titles at middleweight.
De La Hoya has issued the following statement in response to the International Boxing Federation's decision.
"We are extremely disappointed at the IBF for forcing the world's best fighter to relinquish his world title. We have been in serious negotiations with Sergiy Derevyanchenko's promoter. We offered his team an unprecedented amount of money for a fighter of his limited stature and limited popularity, but the truth is that I'm now certain they never had any intention of making a deal. But instead they wanted to force us to relinquish Canelo's belt. This is an insult to boxing and more importantly an insult to the boxing fans of the world," De La Hoya stated.
"This decision validates already existing concerns about the credibility of the IBF championship. Canelo inherited a mandatory challenger by defeating Daniel Jacobs, the man who beat Derevyanchenko, so to strip him of his title without giving him enough time to make the best fight possible is truly what is wrong with boxing, and I plan to aggressively consider all legal actions possible."
