Shakur Stevenson predicts prime Oscar De La Hoya vs Canelo: “He’s on another level”

Shakur Stevenson has had his say on how a fantasy matchup between Oscar De La Hoya and Canelo Alvarez might unfold.

In a prime-for-prime battle, it is difficult to say whether their hypothetical encounter would take place at super-welterweight or middleweight, especially given that Canelo’s most notable performances have all been above 147lbs.

At 154lbs, the Mexican defeated the likes of Austin Trout and a faded Shane Mosley during his world title reign, before getting outboxed by Floyd Mayweather in 2013.

A string of more impressive performances then came at 160lbs, where Alvarez claimed his WBC belt with a points victory over Miguel Cotto and eventually faced Gennady Golovkin in two compelling contests.

The first of which saw Canelo come away with a highly contentious draw, though many deemed his majority decision victory in their rematch to be a fair result.

As for De La Hoya, a move up to super-welterweight saw him capture the WBC belt in 2001, before making two successful defences against Fernando Vargas and Luis Ramon Campas.

A defeat to Mosley in 2003 then inspired a further jump up to middleweight, where the ‘Golden Boy’ claimed the WBO title by dethroning Felix Sturm on points.

Whether at 154lbs or 160lbs, though, Stevenson has opined in an interview with The Art Of Dialogue that a prime-for-prime clash between De La Hoya and Canelo would be defined by a battle of offensive and defensive prowess.

“I’m the biggest Canelo fan, because I think he’s really one of the greatest Mexicans to ever do it.

“But to be better than Oscar, in his prime, is hard. They’re both high-level fighters but Canelo, on the defensive side… I would say he was better than Oscar.

“Oscar, on the offensive side, I would say was better [than Canelo]. His jab, and the way he set things up, is on a whole different level.”

Stevenson agrees with the interviewer that a prime De La Hoya would likely emerge triumphant, but rates Canelo’s defensive skills high enough to make their fantasy fight a difficult one to call.