Oscar De La Hoya (left) and Jay Z. The two men have a $100K bet riding on the Miguel Cotto-Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. (Photos: Getty Images)
Oscar de la Hoya is so confident that Saúl “Canelo” Alvarez will beat Miguel Cotto that he challenged music mogul Jay Z to a $100,000 wager on the middleweight world championship fight.
The retired boxing legend has reportedly agreed to donate that amount of money to Jay Z’s charity, the Shawn Carter Foundation, if Cotto retains his championship against Alvarez on Nov. 21 in Las Vegas, according to the New York Post.
In return, Jay Z has pledged to give any winnings to the White Memorial Medical Center’s cancer unit.
“The bet started taking shape when both co-promoters visited their boxers’ camps prior to fight week, boasting about their fighters’ ability,” said an insider told the Post.
Their picks are unsurprising given that Alvarez is the flagship fighter for De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, while the rapper’s company, Roc Nation Sports, signed a lucrative contract with Cotto and is promoting his middleweight title defense.
The Cotto-Alvarez bout, which has been hailed as the ultimate showdown in the Mexico vs. Puerto Rico boxing rivalry, will take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. It will air live on HBO pay-per-view.
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