Oscar De La Hoya has launched into a stunning tirade against Zuffa Boxing, Dana White and Australia’s Jai Opetaia, calling for the southpaw knockout artist to “wake up before they ruin your career.”
The comments, which featured in the boxing legend’s regular “Clap Back Thursday” segment on social media, came in the wake of Opetaia’s victory over Brandon Glanton in Las Vegas on Sunday.
That fight, which doubled as Opetaia’s U.S. and Zuffa Boxing debut, saw him win the inaugural Zuffa cruiserweight title, although it could potentially result in him being stripped of his IBF world championship at 200 pounds.
Days out from the fight, the IBF announced they were withdrawing their sanction of the bout and that Opetaia would be stripped of his title if the fight went ahead.
That announcement came amid a disagreement between the promoter and sanctioning body over the classification of the Zuffa title, which the IBF said must be as characterised “as a trophy or token of recognition,” rather than an actual world championship.
Opetaia and his team have since launched legal action in an attempt to retain the IBF belt and keep his hopes of becoming undisputed champion alive.
De La Hoya, the former six-division world champion who now heads up Golden Boy Promotions, has long been critical of White and that continued on social media this week.
“We all know the Zuffa belt is like a participation trophy given to a nine-year old at the end of a soccer game. It has the significance of a hemorrhoid on my f***in’ ass,” De La Hoya told his followers.
“Zuffa lied to everyone. The entire time, and poor Jai Opetaia suffered because of it.
“They probably signed Opetaia and told his entire team, ‘Oh yeah, we’ll let you unify.’ And of course, it wasn’t going to happen.
“So, instead of fighting for a belt that he loves, Jai was stuck fighting for absolutely nothing, against a guy that had zero championship experience.
“Of course he wants to fight for all the belts, everybody does. Nobody wants the piece of sh*t Zuffa belt they’re trying to push on us.”
De La Hoya then turned his attention to The Ring, which is now owned by Turki Alalshikh, who helps fund Zuffa Boxing.
“His opponent Brandon Glanton was a plant by The Ring, who ranked him number 10 in the world in their made-up rankings,” he continued.
“He had never even fought a championship round in his entire life, he was ranked number 15 by the IBF.
“I’ve said it before, the Ring Magazine belt is officially dead. Its history and honour has been ruined by the biased propaganda and the clear agenda of those behind it.”
De La Hoya also referenced the legal action taken on behalf of Opetaia, in which a preservation notice was sent to the IBF, alleging the sanctioning body was aided and abetted by the WBA, WBC, WBO and Matchroom Boxing in a “coordinated, industry-wide collusion” aimed at inflicting financial and reputational harm on Opetaia.
“To make matters worse for Jai Opetaia, a letter was sent to all organisations from his attorney yesterday, threatening legal action for not working with Zuffa,” De La Hoya added.
“Jai is from a little tiny town in Australia, so what are the chances he knows and chooses an attorney in Las Vegas to represent him on this matter?
“Jai, wake up before they ruin your career, brother.
“Fester [Dana White] is using you as a tool in all of this. Get the f*** out of there…
“You sign with Zuffa and you’ll be tricked into a bunch of sh*t, just like Jai Opetaia was.”
De La Hoya’s rant adds yet another layer of complexity to the situation at the top of the cruiserweight division.
While it remains to be seen whether the 30-year-old Aussie will hang on to his title, he is hopeful of a meeting with WBC champion Noel Mikaelian next.
That potential bout could take place around the same time as Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez puts his WBA and WBO titles on the line against David Benavidez on May 2.
Opetaia’s camp is hopeful of a unification bout for all the belts with the winner of the Ramirez-Benavidez fight later in the year.
Ramirez, however, is signed to Golden Boy Promotions, which could complicate negotiations given De La Hoya is clearly not fond of White’s foray into boxing with Zuffa.