Canelo Alvarez (50-1-2, 34 KOs) will have a new boxing home starting December 15, when he challenges Rocky Fielding (27-1, 15 KOs) for the super middleweight crown in Madison Square Garden.
After HBO announced its decision to step away from boxing at the end of the year, the unified middleweight champion and Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions came to an agreement with sports streaming service DAZN on a whopping five-year, 11-fight, $365 million deal that will run through 2023, per ESPN.
“This is only from my hard work,” said Alvarez, according to ESPN. “The most important thing to me was being able to give the fans the opportunity to see me fight without having to pay the $70 or $80 for my fights on pay-per-view. That was the most important thing, more important than what I am making.”
DAZN will be offered as an all-sports streaming service for $9.99 per month. The streaming service is also currently the home to unbeaten heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, who made his debut on the organization’s service with a September TKO of Alexander Povetkin.
One of the biggest stars in boxing today, the 28-year-old Alvarez is now the richest athlete in sports history, per the report, passing the New York Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton’s 13-year, $325 million deal. The deal comes on the heels of Alvarez’s rematch with Gennady Golovkin from September, where he earned a majority decision victory to unify the middleweight title.
According to ESPN, De La Hoya discussed deals with ESPN, Turner and Showtime before deciding on DAZN. HBO had the right of first negotiation and a last-look provision, but elected not to match DAZN’s offer for the Fielding showdown.
