Coming off the biggest win of his career, Canelo Alvarez has signed a multiyear deal with DAZN that gives him the richest contract in sports history.
Alvarez’s deal includes 11 fights on DAZN, a global live-sports streaming service, beginning with his next fight: Dec. 15 at Madison Square Garden against Rocky Fielding for the WBA super middleweight world title. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
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As part of the partnership announced Wednesday, Golden Boy Promotions will put on up to 10 high-caliber fight nights per year that will stream live on DAZN beginning in early 2019. (DAZN is part of DAZN Group, parent company of Sporting News.)
The fights will be available in all DAZN markets, including the United States, Canada, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan.
“This is easily one of the best days in the growing history of Golden Boy Promotions,” Oscar De La Hoya, Golden Boy Promotions Chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “We are committed to making this sport as accessible as possible and at an affordable price for the all 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.”
Alvarez, who had previously been with HBO, had been one of the biggest attractions in pay-per-view boxing. The deal with DAZN puts his fights on a platform with a low monthly subscription cost.
Alvarez (50-1-2, 34 KOs) beat Gennady “GGG” Golovkin in a majority decision in September to become the WBC, WBA, Lineal and Ring Magazine Middleweight champion. His career includes victories over Miguel Cotto, Amir Khan, Erislandy Lara, Austin Trout and Shane Mosley. Now he’ll step up to 168 pounds to challenge Fielding (27-1, 15 KOs) and seek to become a three-division world champion.
“I’ve always liked a challenge, and this is yet another challenger in my career,” Alvarez said. “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 partnership with Alvarez and Golden Boy is the latest major deal for DAZN in the combat sports industry. Earlier this year, it announced a $1 billion deal with Matchroom Boxing, the promoter of unified world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. DAZN also features Bellator MMA, the World Boxing Super Series and Combate Americas on its platform.
