Oscar De La Hoya has, at least temporarily, set aside his long-standing feud with Dana White by announcing that he will attend UFC 306 at Las Vegas’ Sphere rather than Canelo Alvarez’s boxing match against Edgar Berlanga, which happens the same night.
De La Hoya, a Hall of Fame boxer and now-promoter, described the UFC event as “the one everyone will be watching,” dismissing Alvarez’s bout as “just another lame Canelo fight.”
The rivalry between De La Hoya and White stretches back years, and White didn’t hold back when asked about De La Hoya’s decision., White hinted that De La Hoya might be attending UFC 306 as a guest of Saudi Arabia’s chairman of the general entertainment authority, Turki Alalshikh, whose Riyadh Season is sponsoring the event. White made it clear that De La Hoya didn’t receive his invitation. “I don’t know where he’s getting his tickets from, but he definitely isn’t getting them from me,” White said.
White also suggested that De La Hoya’s decision to attend the UFC event over Alvarez’s fight is rooted in their fractured relationship. Despite their history, White praised Canelo, noting that UFC 306’s celebration of Mexican fighting history will prominently feature Alvarez alongside legends like Julio Cesar Chavez and Salvador Sanchez. “It’s him trying to s*** on Canelo,” White said. “Canelo is a big part of the night, how do you not celebrate him?”
De La Hoya and Alvarez were once close, with De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions representing Alvarez for nearly a decade. However, their partnership ended bitterly in 2020 after Alvarez sued De La Hoya, Golden Boy Promotions, and DAZN, alleging breach of contract. Since then, tensions have escalated, and De La Hoya’s latest move only deepens the divide.
