Canelo Sues DAZN, Golden Boy, De La Hoya

[Ruthless-RKO]

Canelo Sues DAZN, Golden Boy, De La Hoya For Breach of Contract

Middleweight world champion Canelo Alvarez, stymied by his inability to get a fight lined up due to contractual issues with his promoter and broadcast partner, is taking his fight outside the boxing ring.

Alvarez, boxing’s biggest star, on Tuesday sued promoter Golden Boy Promotions, its owner/CEO/chairman Oscar De La Hoya, and broadcast partner DAZN in United States federal court for the Central District of California, claiming damages of at least $280 million.

In the 24-page lawsuit, a copy of which was obtained by Boxing Scene, Mexico’s Alvarez is suing for, among other reasons, breach of contract, intentional interference with a contract, negligent interference with a contract, fraud and breach of fiduciary duty related to the five-year, 11-fight deal worth a then-athlete record $365 million Alvarez signed with streaming service DAZN in the early morning hours of Oct. 17, 2018.

Under that deal, Alvarez was due to fight twice per year, on the Mexican holiday weekends in May and September, for $35 million minimum guarantees from the $40 million DAZN would pay Golden Boy for each fight, other than the first bout of the deal against Rocky Fielding in December 2018 for which Alvarez received $15 million.

“Despite Alvarez’ successes, both DAZN and Golden Boy have broken the promises they made to each other, Alvarez, and boxing fans,” the lawsuit said. “In doing so Defendants have breached their respective contracts and caused Alvarez damages of -- at least -- $280 million.”

Besides the damages Alvarez alleges, he is also seeking punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, costs of the suit and “a judicial determination that he is eligible to participate in bouts arranged and promoted by entities other than Golden Boy Promotions and broadcast by entities other than DAZN.”

Under the deal with DAZN, the 30-year-old Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs) has defeated Fielding to win a secondary super middleweight title, returned to middleweight to outpoint Daniel Jacobs to unify 160-pound belts and then moved up two divisions and knocked out Sergey Kovalev in the 11th round of his most recent fight last November to win a light heavyweight world title.

Since then, between the coronavirus pandemic and issues coming to agreement on an opponent for a fight penciled in for this fall, Alvarez has no fight lined up and he is not happy about it.

“I’m the pound-for-pound No. 1 in the world. I’m not scared of any opponent in the ring, and I’m not going to let failures of my broadcaster or promoters keep me out of the ring,” Alvarez said in a statement to Boxing Scene. “I filed the lawsuit so I can get back to boxing and give my fans the show they deserve.”

DAZN has wanted Alvarez to fight fellow middleweight star Gennadiy Golovkin, whom it also has under contract, for a third time after their two mega-pay-per-view fights ended in a draw and a disputed Alvarez majority decision win. The trilogy match looms as one of boxing’s biggest fights and DAZN had hoped to have it last year rather than the Kovalev fight.

Earlier this year, according to sources, the sides made a deal for the bout to take place this month, following Alvarez facing super middleweight titlist Billy Saunders this past May and Golovkin facing his mandatory middleweight challenger Kamil Szeremeta in the spring.

But when the coronavirus pandemic shut the sports world down neither fight was formally announced and there was no boxing for several months.

With the sport returning in June, discussions had already begun for Alvarez’s next fight but DAZN, according to sources, wanted to cut Alvarez’s money from $35 million to less than half for him to fight either of the non-Golovkin opponents it approved: super middleweight titleholders Saunders and Callum Smith.

According to the suit, “Despite repeated promises that an alternative offer was imminent, DAZN failed to make a proposal to either Golden Boy Promotions or Alvarez for several months. When Golden Boy Promotions and Alvarez proposed opponents, DAZN refused to confirm that it was prepared to broadcast Alvarez’ September 2020 bout or that it would pay the contracted $40 million license fee.

“On June 24, 2020 – approximately 10 weeks before Alvarez’ expected September bout, date and the time when Alvarez would need to begin training camp for a bout in mid-September 2020 – Alvarez’ counsel wrote to Golden Boy Promotions and DAZN to confirm that Alvarez was prepared to face multiple potential world-class opponents, but that DAZN and Golden Boy Promotions needed to affirm their commitments so that the bout could be finalized, promoted, and his training could commence.”

According to the suit, DAZN said it would not pay the required license fee, and provided “a series of excuses, including, but not limited to, the fact that Alvarez had not fought Mr. Golovkin in 2019 and that Golden Boy Promotions had not put forth a plan for a second Alvarez fight in 2020.”

Multiple sources told BS that Alvarez agreed to take less than his guarantee but not as much as DAZN wanted to reduce it to. Alvarez, who is willing to box without a crowd, was also looking at less revenue on top of a reduced license fee because he would lose out on his share of the live gate because no fans are allowed to attend fights yet due to the coronavirus.

The lawsuit said that DAZN did try to cut the license fee.

“After extended discussions between the parties, DAZN offered to pay Alvarez and Golden Boy Promotions a fraction of the contracted $40 million license fee in cash and some DAZN stock in advance of a potential IPO,” the suit said. “However, the entire value of the package – for a bout against another World Champion – was substantially less than Alvarez’ contractual guarantee.

“Given that DAZN had made it clear that it would not honor its contract, throughout the spring and summer of 2020, Alvarez repeatedly asked Golden Boy Promotions to explore alternative broadcast options for a fall 2020 bout. Although Golden Boy Promotions reported that it was talking to various broadcasters, it failed to put forth a single alternative plan by which it would pay Alvarez the $35 million it had promised him for each of his fights. Alvarez has fought the first three of his eleven fights under the Alvarez and DAZN Contracts. He is owed remaining guaranteed payments of $280 million.”

Golden Boy said the issue is not between the promotional company and Alvarez, but rather between Alvarez and DAZN.

“They’re the ones refusing to honor the contract by not approving the outstanding opponents we have presented to them and by refusing to pay the contractually required amount,” Golden Boy spokesman Stefan Friedman told Boxing Scene. "Even though our contract specifically gives Golden Boy the right to wait until the pandemic is over and fans can return, in the best interests of boxing, Golden Boy is doing everything it can to make great fights happen. We remain ready, willing and able to make a fight for Canelo as soon as possible.”

DAZN representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.

According to the lawsuit, other than Fielding, the contract did not require Alvarez to face “any specific opponent. Instead, it specified that Alvarez’ opponents ‘be mutually selected’” by Alvarez, Golden Boy and DAZN and that approval “not to be unreasonably withheld.”

“Nobody from Golden Boy ever promised anyone that Canelo would fight any specified opponent,” Friedman said. “We simply agreed to put on the kind of premier, history-making fights we worked on together in 2019.”

In the suit, Alvarez disagreed with that assertion.

“The Alvarez Contract did not require Alvarez to select Mr. Golovkin as his opponent in 2019, or at any time thereafter,” the suit said. “In fact, the Alvarez Contract required that a bout with Mr. Golovkin would require additional guaranteed payment in excess of $25 million, to be separately negotiated. … Alvarez was not told that Golden Boy Promotions had already entered into an agreement with DAZN that gave DAZN a role in approving his future opponents. Neither did Golden Boy Promotions disclose that they had represented to DAZN that Alvarez would have a bout with Mr. Golovkin in 2019.”

Further, the suit alleges that Golden Boy “intentionally failed to disclose that they had made representations and/or promises to DAZN that exceeded or were inconsistent with the terms of the Alvarez Contract. … Alvarez is informed and believes that DAZN is now using the previously undisclosed representations and/or promises of Golden Boy Promotions … as excuses for its failure to approve of and pay for Alvarez bouts in the fall 2020 and beyond.”

[H8Usernames]

Lil Canelo Alvarez scared of GGG, nothing new. I hope that DAZN is able to get out of this deal without paying a single penny more, the channel may opt to drop boxing all together if it is going be run at a loss due to a bad deal with Alvarez.

[Enlightened-One]

Here’s my high-level summary of my interpretation of Canelo’s gripes with DAZN & GBP…

DAZN wants Canelo to face GGG, but Gennadiy wants to fight Kamil Szeremeta before facing Canelo for a third time.

DAZN wants to pay Canelo a fraction of the $35m originally guaranteed sum if he chooses to face Saunders or Smith next (whom they approved).

Canelo is willing to take a pay cut, but not as much as DAZN would like.

DAZN failed to provide a revised offer (despite promising they would) and nor do they even bother to confirm if they were prepared to broadcast Canelo's September 12th bout, after receiving proposed opponents from GBP & Canelo.

Golden Boy didn't attempt to seek alternative broadcasters for Canelo's next fight, despite GBP telling Canelo that it was.

GBP told Canelo that his DAZN contract doesn't include stipulations forcing him to face specific opponents, except for the fact he'd receive a bigger purse guarantee if he faces GGG.

GBP failed to inform Canelo that they had entered into separate agreements with DAZN that exceeded the terms of their own contractual arrangement with Canelo.

DAZN are now using those the agreements with GBP to justify their refusal to fulfil their own separate contract with Canelo.

Golden Boy doesn't believe they're accountable for anything, because they think the dispute lies solely with DAZN & Canelo.

Canelo files lawsuits against GBP & DAZN seeking:

• Attorneys’ fees & costs
• Become a free agent to work with other promoters & networks
• Damages amounting to $280 million

I have to be honest, assuming everything claimed is true (which seems to be aligned with recent media reports), I feel that Canelo has an excellent chance of forcing DAZN/GBP to either fulfil the promises made to him or to be released from his contracts and receive out-of-court settlements from both parties.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Imagine Canelo links up with Mayweather Promotions.

[apollo creed]

So DAZN wants to pay Canelo less money b/c of the pandemic crisis. Canelo has good chances to win.

[lazboy]

Suing an entity with no money. Good luck.

[Enlightened-One]

Suing an entity with no money. Good luck.

DAZN has just recently agreed a new contract worth $1.5 billion with the Bundesliga and have also committed to extending their contract with the J-League, which will cost them $2.1 billion over twelve years.

So DAZN cannot pretend they don’t have sufficient funds to fulfil their $35m per bout contract guarantee with Canelo, if they literally continue to spend billions of dollars on other sports.

Canelo has placed DAZN in a tricky situation, because if they are reneging on their contractual obligations, then that streaming service may find it trickier expanding its portfolio with other business partners dealing with other sports, because they’ll lack credibility.

So for instance, if DAZN are trying to win the rights to cover one sporting event, they might not be able to acquire them (even if they outbid their rivals), if there’s a suspicion they’ll fail (at some point) to fulfil their contractual obligations (such as coughing up any money they owe).

It’s a bit like a bank manager refusing to issue a loan if they think the debtor won’t repay the monies they owe (based on their track-record), even if the person attempting to borrow the money is willing to sign a contract stating they would.

[Enlightened-One]

Imagine Canelo links up with Mayweather Promotions.

Or he'll more likely become self-promoted self-managed and align himself with Al Haymon and Showtime/Fox. That seems to be the business model adopted by most (if not all) PBC fighters.

Golden Boy was originally run by Al Haymon anyway (unofficially, in partnership with Richard Schaeffer, without Oscar De La Hoya's involvement) and Canelo used to have his fights covered by Showtime. So he'll be returning "home" and working with his old team again.

I don't think he'll make the jump to Top Rank/ESPN (even if they control most 175lb-ers), because Bob Arum likes to be in complete control and deduct promotional fees from his fighters' purses. I also don't think ESPN's PPV's generate numbers as big as Showtime or Fox.

Canelo is commercially big enough to easily overcome political hurdles and business rivalries that adversely affect the careers of other fighters, such as Terence Crawford.

[Enlightened-One]

This hyperlink provides access to an article containing the actual 24-page legal documentation that details Canelo's contractual complaints filed in the lawsuits against GBP & DAZN.

"Canelo Álvarez sues Dazn and Oscar De La Hoya for breach of $365m contract"

[bobcatbox]

Sad to see yet another boxing career in its prime struck down by lawsuits.

[Enlightened-One]

DAZN has just announced plans to lay off dozens of employees based in the US and Brazil.

I could be wrong but I believe there's only one US-based boxing event (Garcia-Campbell) in DAZN's current schedule which is being promoted by GBP. And Ryan Garcia recently tried to force GBP to drop him.

Things aren't looking good for DAZN, GBP & Matchroom US at the moment.

I hope Canelo is able to obtain some sort of short-term legal approval to engage in interim boutS without GBP’s or DAZN’s involvement, because the potential alternative (since court cases often last several years, including the appeal process), is that he’s sat on the side-lines whilst his career goes to waste.

And this would adversely affect all high-profile fighters competing from 160lbs to 175lbs, which includes GGG’s own $100m contract with DAZN.

[Ruthless-RKO]

This is all Eddeh's fault..

For bringing in DAZN into boxing..

[Rgoodwin]

If DAZN wants to continue with boxi g they should have Golovkin fight Andrade and Smith fight Saunders. They have some interesting options without Canelo.

[Ruthless-RKO]

If DAZN wants to continue with boxi g they should have Golovkin fight Andrade and Smith fight Saunders. They have some interesting options without Canelo.

Smith vs. Saunders does nothing for DAZN subs IMHO.

[Jeff_lacy_ko]

Dazn is da-done

A streaming service could have worked. They could have focused on great matchups twice a month and kept their costs really low and easily had 300k dedicated subscribers. That would be 3mm a month in revenue, more than enough to build something slowly

Embarrassing

[Alguiffer]

This hyperlink provides access to an article containing the actual 24-page legal documentation that details Canelo's contractual complaints filed in the lawsuits against GBP & DAZN.

"Canelo Álvarez sues Dazn and Oscar De La Hoya for breach of $365m contract"

Thanks for posting that link to the actual paper work that was filed - it is very interesting to read the specifics of what a thing like this involves.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Dazn is da-done

A streaming service could have worked. They could have focused on great matchups twice a month and kept their costs really low and easily had 300k dedicated subscribers. That would be 3mm a month in revenue, more than enough to build something slowly

Embarrassing

They just went in there though guns blazing!! With a sport that is not even top 10 in the US.

Apart from when marque fights are on..

[Jeff_lacy_ko]

They wanted to make waves and ended up drowning

[margaret thatcher]

Imagine Canelo links up with Mayweather Promotions.

Or he'll more likely become self-promoted self-managed and align himself with Al Haymon and Showtime/Fox. That seems to be the business model adopted by most (if not all) PBC fighters.

Golden Boy was originally run by Al Haymon anyway (unofficially, in partnership with Richard Schaeffer, without Oscar De La Hoya's involvement) and Canelo used to have his fights covered by Showtime. So he'll be returning "home" and working with his old team again.

I don't think he'll make the jump to Top Rank/ESPN (even if they control most 175lb-ers), because Bob Arum likes to be in complete control and deduct promotional fees from his fighters' purses. I also don't think ESPN's PPV's generate numbers as big as Showtime or Fox.

Canelo is commercially big enough to easily overcome political hurdles and business rivalries that adversely affect the careers of other fighters, such as Terence Crawford.

PBC! PBC! PBC!

[caldo2025]

Ok, I’ll post a couple more because I missed some of you sweet science psychopaths.

I may be in the minority but I just can’t see GGG and Canelo fighting for a third time in front of a poster board capacity crowd of about 10 people.

There is PART of me that likes the gym, sparring-like atmosphere, but some Marquee Matchups aren’t worth putting on in this type of environment. I wish that I were smart enough to be able to give mathematical figures on what the total loss of revenue is to be for a fight like Canelo/GGG III. Not just the gate with spectators but the total dollar infusion across the board in Vegas. So I can see why it’s a tough call on how to handle Canelo’s fights during this time.

Lastly, I do wish that these networks stop with the fake crowd on the walls and pushing crowd sound effects. Make it look like the old Kronk Gym on a 100 degree day and let us hear each shot and the boxers and trainers words inside the ring. It could be so much better if these folks had a clue. They could come up with new ring effects that could add so much to a telecast instead of this 3rd grade talent show in the gymnasium-look. Can’t they ever look outside of the box in this sport? Thanks for listening if anyone even finished reading this flip flopping mess of a post. Be well Boys

[Enlightened-One]

If DAZN wants to continue with boxi g they should have Golovkin fight Andrade and Smith fight Saunders. They have some interesting options without Canelo.

Smith vs. Saunders does nothing for DAZN subs IMHO.

It'll be a cheap sporting content allowing DAZN to fill some air time, since it'll be paid for by Sky Sports PPV's.

It's better than showing a repeat of an historical sporting event everybody already knows the outcome of.

[Thomastearns]

I hope that the DAZN decide to counter sue Canelo for not fighting GGG. He plainly avoids
him without 'certain conditions' and 'certain guarantees' put into place beforehand.

I'm guessing that Covid 19 messed things up a little, eh Saul? You know the Coronavirus? The global pandemic? Perhaps you missed the news.

Saul Alvarez doesn't have the slightest bit of respect for his fans, let alone boxing fans.
Maybe that corrupt prima Donna sitting in his fortified ivory tower has let years of constant experimental PED use remove what little connection to reality he had left.

This could only be funnier if he had included the WBC and the Las Vegas cartel in his hissy fit. Maybe Golovkin too for not fighting for free, with one arm behind his back. We don't need any behind the scenes horse trading,we need this to go to court.

This, boxings biggest money fight, might even get real nasty if Oscar loses it and decides to talk. Especially if he's standing in front of a judge at the time with the boxing press in attendance. It's about time someone blew the lid off boxing in a big way.

Here's hoping.

[margaret thatcher]

Ya, Canelo for sure is ducking a guy who can't beat him

[Jeff_lacy_ko]

GGG doesnt have stones to move up to 168 let alone 175.

[margaret thatcher]

knowing dazn, they'll pay 2 billion to hire the law school janitor to defend them