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Mark Lennihan
Golden Boy

Canelo signs 'highest-paid guaranteed contract in sports history' with streaming service DAZN

The Mexican’s deal is worth a reported $365m across five years and 10 fights.

WORLD MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez has signed a 10-fight contract with streaming service DAZN worth a guaranteed $365million.

Canelo, a free agent in broadcast terms after his HBO deal expired last month (HBO have since announced their intention to withdraw from boxing), will face Briton Rocky Fielding in a super-middleweight clash live on the platform on 15 December.

The Los Angeles Times, who broke the story, report that Canelo’s deal with DAZN is a five-year pact with 10 fights guaranteed.

His promoter Oscar De La Hoya, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, told the Times that the Mexican’s deal is “the highest-paid guaranteed contract in sports history,” a claim which stands up to scrutiny: the biggest guaranteed contract in world sport to this point was known to be Giancarlo Stanton’s deal with Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins, worth $325m.

It means that boxing’s biggest pay-per-view star will be available to watch for $9.95 per month as opposed to almost $90 per fight, which will no doubt come as a relief to his legion of fans on either side of the Mexican border and beyond.

As part of the deal, Golden Boy have found a new second home for their fight cards, too, after being left in the lurch by partners HBO’s decision to throw in the towel.

De La Hoya’s company is guaranteed 10 shows a year on DAZN beginning in 2019, while they’ll also continue to work with ESPN2/ESPN Deportes and Facebook.

US newcomers DAZN recently signed a billion-dollar deal with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Promotions, meaning Katie Taylor’s world title defence and James Tennyson’s bid for world honours in Boston this Saturday will be streamed live on the app. Both fights will also be shown live on Sky Sports on this side of the pond as per Matchroom’s deal with the company.

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