Move over Giancarlo Stanton, there is a new king at the top of the list of highest paid athletes, and he is Mexican boxing superstar and WBC, WBA, Lineal and Ring Magazine Middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.
Alvarez signed a five-year, 11-fight game changing deal with global sports streaming leader DAZN that will pay the boxing superstar at least $365 million.
For Alvarez who is coming off the biggest win of his career in September, a thrilling majority decision victory against Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, the deal solidifies him as the new face of boxing with boxing great Floyd Mayweather now retired.
“I’ve always liked a challenge, and this is yet another challenge in my career,” said Alvarez at the announcement in New York on Wednesday “Being part of this historic deal will require me to prepare myself even more and offer fans even better performances. At the same time, I am humbled to be selected to lead this new vision for the sport of boxing, which will without a doubt be for the benefit of the fans.”
The historic deal marks a major change in the boxing landscape, where its biggest stars traditionally fought on HBO, Showtime or pay-per-view. As DAZN as become the home for boxing superstars after HBO announced in September that it’s getting out of the fight business.
Now, sports fans can view Canelo and Anthony Joshua fights along with other high-quality combat sports content on DAZN for a low monthly subscription cost.
Just last month DAZN showed and entire boxing card featuring world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua defending his title against contender Alexander Povetkin for 9.99 which is a small drop in the bucket compared to normal pay-per-views in America for a fight of that magnitude.
“By bringing Canelo’s fights to DAZN, we will turn his pay-per-view success into a growth engine for subscribers – a truly transformational moment for our business and the entire industry,” said John Skipper, DAZN Group Executive Chairman.
With Alvarez traditionally fighting twice a year in May and September, the mega deal is essentially a five-year deal paying the boxing king 33 million a fight and should expire around September 2023. Canelo’s DAZN debut will be Saturday, Dec. 15 when he makes his first appearance at the historic Madison Square Garden challenging Rocky Fielding (27-1, 15 KOs) for his WBA Super Middleweight World Title.
“This is easily one of the best days in the growing history of Golden Boy Promotions,” said Oscar De La Hoya, Golden Boy Promotions Chairman and CEO at Wednesday’s press conference. “We are committed to making this sport as accessible as possible and at an affordable price for all the fans. My dream has been to make boxing a sport for all. DAZN has the perfect platform to make this dream come true, and with the biggest star in the sport at the helm of this journey, I have no doubts that we will succeed in unimaginable ways.”
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