Hopkins, who fought De La Hoya and later promoted Canelo, shared his thoughts in a recent interview with FightHype. He predicted De La Hoya would win by decision in a hypothetical matchup between the two Mexican-American stars at their best.
"Oscar by decision. He would outbox him, jab him. If you look at me and Oscar's fight, I knew I was losing that fight and my trainer told me you gotta be the big guy. I was bigger as far as you know I'd been at middleweight just about 80% of my career. I had to go ahead and force my will on Oscar and actually get close to Oscar."
Hopkins explained that De La Hoya's volume punching gave him trouble in their fight. He had to change his strategy to overcome the "Golden Boy's" effective jab and combinations.
"But leading up to that tenth, eleventh round, he was winning and I was getting outpointed. I would hit Oscar with one or two punches, he'd hit me with three, four, five. They didn't hurt me but they were still adding up and I had to literally go and actually make him fight with me like Canelo would try to do."
De La Hoya, a six-weight world champion, was once the biggest star in boxing. He won his first 33 bouts before suffering his first defeat. His career included notable losses to Felix Trinidad, Shane Mosley, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, and Hopkins himself. Despite these setbacks, De La Hoya's list of victories remains impressive.
After retiring, De La Hoya transitioned to promoting and Canelo became his star fighter. However, their relationship soured, leading to a bitter split.
Canelo, now a four-division champion with a record of 64-2-2, currently holds the unified super-middleweight titles. He's facing a decision about his next opponent, with David Benavidez and Terence Crawford as potential challengers.
De La Hoya has claimed Canelo is avoiding a fight with Benavidez. Meanwhile, pound-for-pound star Crawford has expressed willingness to jump up two weight classes to face Canelo.
As the debate over Canelo's next move continues, Hopkins' fantasy matchup prediction adds an interesting perspective from someone who knows both fighters well.