Canelo Signs Multi-Fight Deal with DAZN

[Ruthless-RKO]

DAZN has made its most significant impact yet in the crowded American television/streaming market for boxing.

BS.com has learned DAZN, a new streaming service that launched September 22 in the United States, has secured the rights to show Canelo Alvarez’s next fight, a December 15 super middleweight title bout against Rocky Fielding at Madison Square Garden. Alvarez-Fielding will be the first of a multi-fight agreement for Alvarez’s bouts to be streamed by DAZN.

The agreement between Golden Boy Promotions, Alvarez and DAZN means fans will be able to watch Alvarez’s fights for a significantly lower fee than usual ($9.99 per month in the United States). Nine of Alvarez’s past 10 fights have been pay-per-view events distributed by either HBO or Showtime, and typically have cost between $65 and $75 to view in HD.

The Mexican superstar’s last fight, a majority-decision victory over Gennady Golovkin in their middleweight championship rematch September 15 in Las Vegas, cost $84.99 to watch in HD.

[MORE TO COME]

[Ruthless-RKO]

I wonder if DAZN has blown half it’s budget. $9.99 isn’t going to cover Canelo’s purses. Even if they have over a million subs. No doubt a lot of Hispanics will sign up, DAZN will do wel with this.

I’m kind of thinking Hearn isn’t involved in the deal.

ODLH already said he will promote Canelo on hiw own and won’t do any co-promoting with Hearn (DAZN) or Arum (ESPN).. we’ll find out soon.

Good move overal for DAZN. Subs will increase big time. And then if Canelo doesn’t stay with DAZN after multi fights, they might still retain some subs.

[tiny_acres]

I honestly wonder what Hearn is going to say.
I was under the assumption that Hearn controlled the boxing aspect of Dazn.

[Ruthless-RKO]

I honestly wonder what Hearn is going to say.
I was under the assumption that Hearn controlled the boxing aspect of Dazn.

He is. DAZN is exclusive with Matchroom, I think Hearn helps get’s fighter to perform on DAZN too.

[tiny_acres]

I honestly wonder what Hearn is going to say.
I was under the assumption that Hearn controlled the boxing aspect of Dazn.

He is. DAZN is exclusive with Matchroom, I think Hearn helps get’s fighter to perform on DAZN too.

I just can't see it working out. The egos of both Hearn and Oscar can coexist in this.
There is bound to be legitimate trouble

[Ruthless-RKO]

I honestly wonder what Hearn is going to say.
I was under the assumption that Hearn controlled the boxing aspect of Dazn.

He is. DAZN is exclusive with Matchroom, I think Hearn helps get’s fighter to perform on DAZN too.

I just can't see it working out. The egos of both Hearn and Oscar can coexist in this.
There is bound to be legitimate trouble

It’s only a multi-fight deal. It’s on DAZN mostly due to Fielding being with Matchroom, no doubt. For bigger bouts, Canelo will need real PPV money. Will sign with either Showtime or ESPN..

[walter5]

DAZN is not exclusive with Hearn. This deal was done between John Skipper and Oscar De La Hoya. Golden Boy now has their own independent dates on DAZN.

[Ruthless-RKO]

DAZN is not exclusive with Hearn. This deal was done between John Skipper and Oscar De La Hoya. Golden Boy now has their own independent dates on DAZN.

Thanks for clearing that up.

[chad]

Being reported in the UK that it's a 10 fight deal worth £270 million, £27 million per fight.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/7512782/ ... -dazn/amp/

It's being described as the richest sports contract in history. Can't see Eddie being happy with this. He's getting paid treble this amount but it's for over 30 fight nights per year for the next 2 years initially.

[Enlightened-One]

"Canelo Alvarez signs 5-year, 11-fight deal worth minimum $365 million with DAZN" (Source: Dan Rafael - ESPN)

As the old saying goes, as one door closes, another one opens.

Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions stable of fighters, including Canelo Alvarez, the unified middleweight world champion and boxing's biggest superstar, have long been stalwarts of HBO. But with the premium cable network's recent announcement that after 45 years of putting on most of the biggest fights in boxing it was bowing out of the sport at the end of the year, they were in need of a new broadcast home -- and they have landed a very lucrative one with new sports streaming service DAZN through 2023.

In a record-shattering deal finalized early Wednesday morning, Alvarez signed a five-year, 11-fight deal worth a minimum of $365 million with DAZN, which only launched in the United States in September.

It will commence with his move up to super middleweight to challenge secondary world titlist Rocky Fielding on Dec. 15 at Madison Square Garden in New York, where they will meet face-to-face at the kickoff news conference on Wednesday afternoon.

Alvarez's deal is the richest athlete contract in sports history, eclipsing the 13-year, $325 million agreement that New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton signed in 2014 when he was with the Miami Marlins.

"Canelo is the highest-paid athlete in the world. He's extremely happy," De La Hoya told ESPN after Alvarez signed.

HBO had the right of first negotiation and a last-look provision for Alvarez's fight with England's Fielding (27-1, 15 KOs), and the network made an offer for an HBO PPV event, but it elected not to match the one made by DAZN.

Although rumors that the deal was imminent have swirled for a few days, it was not finalized until after 1 a.m. ET Wednesday, when Alvarez, accompanied by manager Chepo Reynoso and trainer Eddy Reynoso, signed the contract following a lengthy meeting with De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez at a hotel in New York's Times Square.

Alvarez is a boxing's biggest pay-per-view star of the post Floyd Mayweather/Manny Pacquiao era, generating hundreds of millions of dollars for events on HBO PPV and, before that, Showtime PPV. But the move to DAZN will take him off HBO PPV -- where his fights cost around $80 apiece for viewers -- and place his two fights per year on the all-sports streaming service that charges $9.99 a month for a slew of combat sports offerings.

When Alvarez was fighting on pay-per-view, he would earn money for every buy above a set threshold beyond his guaranteed purse. But even though DAZN doesn't offer pay-per-view, Alvarez can still earn even more money beyond his guarantee based on specific subscription benchmarks that DAZN can reach during the course of the deal.

"This is only from my hard work," Alvarez told ESPN shortly after he signed the paperwork. "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.

"It's very important for me to give the fans the biggest fights and the most important fights, and I promise you I will always do that. The December fight with Fielding is a dangerous fight. I am moving up in weight, and I don't know how my body will feel. But I always want to take on challenges, and I am very happy my fans will be able to see me fight for a small cost."

Alvarez said he was not worried that he was moving to an unproven broadcast platform.

"Never. I was never worried because I'm very confident in myself," he said. "I know how important I am to any platform I go to. I am very grateful to HBO and to Showtime for what they did for my career, but I am happy we're moving forward and that I will be able to fight on a platform that is the future. I've always liked a challenge, and this is yet another challenger in my career.

"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."

Although Alvarez is the centerpiece of the deal, De La Hoya had leverage to use Alvarez to secure dates and license fees from DAZN for his company's non-Alvarez events. The deal, for which financial terms were not disclosed, calls for Golden Boy to put on up to 10 "high-caliber fight nights" per year that will stream live on DAZN beginning in early 2019.

Those fights would include Golden Boy's other top fighters, including junior welterweight and former three-division world titlist Jorge Linares, junior featherweight titlist Rey Vargas, middleweight contender David Lemieux, featherweight contender Joseph Diaz Jr. and junior featherweight contender Diego De La Hoya, as well as junior lightweight Ryan Garcia and junior welterweight Vergil Ortiz Jr., two of boxing's top prospects.

"This is huge for boxing, huge for Canelo and huge for Golden Boy," De La Hoya said. "Golden Boy is at the forefront of something very monumental for the sport of boxing."

Because of how well the pay-per-view sold, Alvarez (50-1-2, 34 KOs), 28, of Mexico, earned around $50 million for his rematch with Gennady Golovkin, whom he outpointed to win the unified middleweight title on Sept. 15 in the year's biggest fight. Now, Alvarez will get a fee from well-funded DAZN for his events as the streaming service tries to make inroads in the United States after previously launching in Japan, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Canada, where the Golden Boy and Alvarez fights also will be included with subscriptions.

"This is easily one of the best days in the growing history of Golden Boy Promotions," De La Hoya said. "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."

When HBO announced in late September that it would cease televising boxing, De La Hoya and Gomez immediately began looking for a new home. They talked to ESPN, Turner and Showtime, with which they once had a deal and where Alvarez had his biggest pay-per-view fight (a 2013 loss to Mayweather).

But about two weeks ago, De La Hoya and Gomez also met with John Skipper, the executive chairman of Perform Group, DAZN's parent company, in Los Angeles. De La Hoya and Skipper already knew each other from when Skipper was the president of ESPN and Golden Boy had a limited deal for a series of boxing events on the network; and they were able to make this deal in relatively short order because De La Hoya needed a home for his fighters and Skipper, with money to spend, needed content for the new service.

"We were able to reach a conclusion of what Canelo is worth today and what he is worth tomorrow, and we worked out this deal," De La Hoya said.

Said Skipper: "We are thrilled to be exclusive partners with Golden Boy Promotions and Oscar De La Hoya. 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."

By signing Alvarez, DAZN now is the home for boxing's two most significant superstars, as it also is the American broadcast location for unified heavyweight world titleholder and British fighter Anthony Joshua. Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, signed an eight-year, $1 billion deal with DAZN in May to deliver 16 events annually in the United States, along with the 16 per year he already was putting on the United Kingdom. That deal kicked off Sept. 22 with Joshua's title defense against Alexander Povetkin.

The deal with Golden Boy also will give DAZN access to the roughly 7,000-hour library of Golden Boy's fights, including from De La Hoya's Hall of Fame career. Golden Boy Media and Entertainment also will produce various shoulder programs to complement the live events.

DAZN, whose other boxing property is the World Boxing Super Series and its three second-season tournaments, is the latest entrant into a crowded boxing broadcasting field, even as HBO winds down its historic run.

ESPN and Top Rank recently tore up a four-year deal made in 2017 and entered into a new seven-year agreement that runs until August 2025 and calls for 54 live boxing events annually between ESPN and ESPN+. Al Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions recently completed a four-year rights deal with Fox that begins in December, and it also finalized a new three-year deal with longtime partner Showtime.

WTF!

[Enlightened-One]

Apparently Oscar De La Hoya did the deal directly with DAZN, without Eddie Hearn’s involvement, which has also resulted in GBP being able to cover ten events per year on the streaming platform.

DAZN will be streaming 50 fight cards per year (40 from Matchroom [US = 16; UK = 24] and 10 from Golden Boy).

[Ruthless-RKO]

Apparently Oscar De La Hoya did the deal directly with DAZN, without Eddie Hearn’s involvement, which has also resulted in GBP being able to cover ten events per year on the streaming platform.

DAZN will be streaming 50 fight cards per year (40 from Matchroom [US = 16; UK = 24] and 10 from Golden Boy).

He said he was going to that anyway.

[Ruthless-RKO]

When Alvarez was fighting on pay-per-view, he would earn money for every buy above a set threshold beyond his guaranteed purse. But even though DAZN doesn't offer pay-per-view, Alvarez can still earn even more money beyond his guarantee based on specific subscription benchmarks that DAZN can reach during the course of the deal.

Even better for Canelo.

How much was Mayweathers 6-fight Showtime deal worth?

Also, apart from not being involved, Hearn can’t be too pissed off. DAZN subs will be shooting up meaning more people to view Matchroom Shows too.

[Enlightened-One]

DAZN will be streaming 50 fight cards per year (40 from Matchroom [US = 16; UK = 24] and 10 from Golden Boy).

And with the impending deal between NBC/Main Events, coupled with the recently announced PBC/Fox/Showtime and ESPN/Top Rank deals, there’s going to be plenty of boxing being covered on TV in the US.

I guess we just need to find out which network Golovkin signs up with (either via GGG or K2 Promotions) or if he decides to remain a free agent.

I guess the rumours of “boxing being a dying sport” must be true?

I just hope that we get the added bonus of EA Sports deciding to exploit boxing's new-found popularity by reviving their Fight Night video game franchise, as this will inevitably result in me be spending a good portion of my life involved in the sport in some sort of capacity.

[Ricky]

Feels like a watershed moment for streaming.

I had never heard of DAZN until 2 weeks ago. Some serious players obviously investing in the future of streaming.

Traditional tv is on the way out.

[Enlightened-One]

Some interesting commentary from one of my favourite boxing scripts about Canelo’s multi-fight deal with DAZN…

Whilst I don’t always agree with Vivek Wallace's thoughts, as sometimes he can be a tad too provocative, he does make some perfectly valid points about network issues that could scupper the possibility of several big fights being made…

So here are his thoughts:

When Canelo became a free agent after HBO closed shop, many thought he'd land at Showtime. Of all the promotional outfits on the landscape, DAZN was the last place most thought Canelo (a Goldenboy Promotions fighter) would plant his flag. Looks like that's EXACTLY what the Mexican warrior decided to do.

What's interesting about this decision is that DAZN technically doesn't have any other marquee fighters to place beside him outside of Anthony Joshua. Considering the relatively thin roster, you have to ask yourself whether or not this banner will be able to actually see the end of a 10 fight deal with a fighter who only fights twice a year? Another potential issue is the fact that most of the targeted competition fights under the Al Haymon, Showtime banner. It's very hard to see Showtime splitting rights to a fight with a streaming service that doesn't have NEARLY as much reach.

Very interesting decision to give guaranteed money to a fighter under a platform that will have a tough time making fights with other promotional banners based on TV rights. If Haymon/Showtime stick to their guns, this could be the easiest $365M ever made in the sport, as Canelo won't be facing too many "studs". Then again, perhaps that distinction belongs to Mayweather - who made slightly less than this figure - for a breezy 36min against Manny Pacquiao. Just a little perspective....Thoughts? #SoundOff #LeftHookLounge #BoxingHeadsUnited

[Boxing101101]

DAZN will be streaming 50 fight cards per year (40 from Matchroom [US = 16; UK = 24] and 10 from Golden Boy).

dont forget they have the wbss as well which is another 12 at least

[ValMar]

I like Canelo, but I can not imagine him to lose by decision. It is not his fault, but this is the best way to kill boxing.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Hearn: Canelo/DAZN Deal Will End PPV Boxing In the United States

“This is gonna shake up the world,” Hearn said. “This is such a great deal that has happened here, and not just for DAZN, but for the boxing landscape. I believe today, with this announcement, you will see the end of pay-per-view boxing in the U.S. over a period – not today. But when you’re talking about going from an $84.99 or a $99 pay-per-view, to a $9.99 or even a free fight, like in December, this is gonna change boxing. Not just Canelo, this is Anthony Joshua. Anthony Joshua against Deontay Wilder, I believe, will happen on DAZN as well.”

Hearn confirmed that there is no plan for DAZN to eventually move toward pay-per-view events for such stars as Alvarez (50-1-2, 34 KOs) and Joshua (22-0, 21 KOs), Great Britain’s biggest draw and the IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion.

“The plan for DAZN is to be a subscription service. Ultimately, the first one against Fielding, which we’ll talk about in a minute, is free. There is no subscription. You can free subscribe to that fight, so again, that’s an early Christmas present for fight fans that, on HBO, you would’ve had to pay $84.99 for that Canelo pay-per-view fight.

“So their aim is to take boxing away from pay-per-view. Pay-per-view is a very important model in the UK, where we’re from. But it’s $25 for a major fight. Eight-five dollars, a hundred dollars is so much money, and I think fight fans will embrace this move and embrace DAZN.”

[SenorPipino]

Terrific news.

The Face of Boxing appearing twice annually on subscription television for just $10 bucks monthly. And throw in 10 major GBP fights throughout the year. And Joshua too.

Some speculate that if the subscription benchmarks are reached, Canelo figures to haul in about half a billion dollars in those five years. Mucho pesos.

Who knows? If the subscriber rate goes through the roof, Hearn and GBP will probably need to renegotiate during the course of that 5 year period to avoid Canelo walking away once it expires.

I suspect, however, that the $9.99 fee will increases markedly as years roll on. What's $10 today, might very well be doubled by 2020.

All in all, still a bargain.

[SenorPipino]

I like Canelo, but I can not imagine him to lose by decision. It is not his fault, but this is the best way to kill boxing.

If Hearn wants to pay Canelo upwards of $500 million to appear on his network, I figure boxing must be thriving. Not on the verge of being killed.

[Ruthless-RKO]

I like Canelo, but I can not imagine him to lose by decision. It is not his fault, but this is the best way to kill boxing.

If Hearn wants to pay Canelo upwards of $500 million to appear on his network, I figure boxing must be thriving. Not on the verge of being killed.

DAZN isn’t Hearn’s network. The Canelo deal was worked out directly through Perform, who own DAZN. Hearn has nothing to di with this.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[paddy chavez]

It's a major coupe for DAZN and it has to be great for the public in the. Americas 10 bucks a month instead of 80 per fight. Having said that I get the feeling that some north Americans seem to like paying for PPV as in it becomes a better fight if it costs $100

[tiny_acres]

It's a major coupe for DAZN and it has to be great for the public in the. Americas 10 bucks a month instead of 80 per fight. Having said that I get the feeling that some north Americans seem to like paying for PPV as in it becomes a better fight if it costs $100

Yes some people believe if it is expensive it has to be better
I'm loving dazn right now