Saul Canelo Alvarez Signs Richest Contract In Sport History With DAZN

Saul Canelo Alvarez has become the best paid sports star on the planet after signing a new deal to have his next 11 fights shown on sports streaming service DAZN, starting with his upcoming fight with Rocky Fielding.

Boxing's heavyweight division might be back to being the most talked about right now with Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury getting ready to face each other on December 1st but it was just over a year ago that Saul Canelo Alvarez helped 'save boxing.'

That was the thought of some when Canelo faced Gennady Golovkin for the first time in September 2017 only because they didn't like the Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor 'circus' from two weeks before.

Alvarez was already one of the biggest names in the sport with a huge Mexican following but his draw with GGG and subsequent victory in the second fight made him an even bigger star, also making him the undisputed middleweight champion.

HBO's decision to no longer show boxing left the 28 year old without a home for his future fights but he has now signed a deal with new streaming service DAZN worth a whopping minimum of $365 million till 2023 over 11 fights.

Speaking to ESPN, Oscar de la Hoya, head of Golden Boy Promotions who represent Canelo said, "Canelo is the highest-paid athlete in the world. He's extremely happy."

DAZN is new to the US and only started streaming for Anthony Joshua's most recent fight against Alexander Povetkin on 22nd September with De La Hoya adding, "This is huge for boxing, huge for Canelo and huge for Golden Boy. Golden Boy is at the forefront of something very monumental for the sport of boxing."

Canelo signs to become the highest paid sports star in the world. Image: Oscar de la Hoya.

The record breaking deal takes the Mexican ahead of the $325 million deal that slugger Giancarlo Stanton signed when moving from Miami Marlins to the New York Yankees in 2014.

Ring magazine's third best pound-for-pound boxer will try and prove his worth on that list in his next fight. Moving up in weight to fight England's Rocky Fielding for the WBA (Regular) super middleweight title.

The fight with Fielding on December 15th will be the first on the new deal with DAZN.

Topics: Boxing News, GGG, Saul Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin, Canelo, Canelo Alvarez

Ryan Sidle

Ryan is a writer for SPORTbible. He covers all sport from football, formula one, cricket, rugby, tennis, athletics, mma and wrestling. He obviously hates YOUR football team and has no interest in synchronised swimming.

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