Oscar De La Hoya presided over the career of Canelo Alvarez as a promoter for better parts of a decade, and although the pair severed ties in 2020, the Hall of Fame fighter still fields questions about Alvarez. 

Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs) is next slated to face Jermell Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) in a bout between undisputed champions on Sept. 30 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Showtime pay-per-view.

The 154-pound Charlo will be moving up to 168 pounds to challenge Alvarez. 

De La Hoya believes climbing up two weight classes to beat Alvarez will be a tough task for the Texan. 

“[Alvarez is] going to break him down. It's not going to be easy,” De La Hoya said in an interview with BoxingScene.com and other media. 

“Charlo is very elusive. Knows how to use his feet. He's going to maybe give Canelo trouble. But you have to think about Charlo jumping up two weight classes. It's not going to be easy. Canelo is a solid at 168. He's a hard puncher. Eventually, it's going to catch up with Charlo. I have Canelo winning. I just feel that Canelo must knock him out to impress. I think Canelo's last fights have been a little shaky. We all know that. And he knows that. If Canelo comes out and knocks out Charlo, it's a win-win for everybody.”

De La Hoya has previously stated that Alvarez doesn’t gain much by beating Charlo. 

De La Hoya has also called the 18-year veteran Alvarez an “old” 33-year-old and said the Mexican star will have troubles with fighters who box similar to Dmitry Bivol.

According to DraftKings, Alvarez is currently listed as a -400 betting favorite to beat the +300 underdog Charlo.

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.