Canelo Alvarez is close to having two huge paydays as the super-middleweight champion is reportedly offered a short deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.
ESPN’s Mike Coppinger revealed that the two-fight deal will most likely generate $85 million for the number 1 pound-for-pound boxer.
Coppinger said that “Canelo and Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing are closing in on a two-fight deal worth upward of $85 million for boxing’s top star to compete on DAZN”.
The first fight will be against light heavyweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol who is looking to return to 175 on May 7. If Alvarez wins, he will then defend his super-middleweight title against Gennadiy Golovkin on September 17. This would’ve been their rubber match.
Triple G is scheduled to fight Ryota Murata for their 160-pound unification bout in Tokyo by Spring. But just like Alvarez, Golovkin also needs to win to secure September title fight.
Aside from the $85 million offer by Harmon’s Matchroom Boxing, Alvarez is also getting another offer from Al Haymon’s PBC. PBC’s offer is somewhere around the $45 million range and this would’ve involved a fight with Jermall Charlo for the four super-middleweight belts on May 7.
Alvarez signed with PBC last year when he faced Caleb Plant and won via 11th round TKO. The number one pound-for-pound boxer received a guaranteed $40 million for that fight. He fought his three previous fights under Hearn. This includes fights with Callum Smith and Billy Joe Saunders.
The 31-year-old had an 11-fight deal with DAZN in 2018 after he came out victorious against Triple G in their September rematch. However, Alvarez sued Oscar Dela Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions and DAZN, which was then settled out of court and Alvarez was let go of his contract.
Fight Against The 2nd Best Light Heavyweight
Bivol is currently the number two light heavyweight on ESPN’s list. Bivol only fought once in light heavyweight against Sergey Kovalev in November 2019. If things go as planned, this will be Alvarez’s second fight at 175.
A fight against Bivol would be an opportunity for Alvarez to go for a second title at 175 pounds. However, Bivol will present a variety of problems including a good jab that can control the range. The only problem is that Bivol is not exactly popular among fans. His last two wins in 2021 went to distance.
The most lucrative fight is the third encounter with Golovkin. The first fight between Alvarez and Golovkin in 2017 ended in a draw while Alvarez scored a close majority decision victory a year later. Both fights were a commercial success generating over 1 million pay-per-view buys each. On top of that, both fights sold more than $20 million in tickets.
However, time isn’t on Golovkin’s side. Triple G is approaching 40 this year. His fight with Murata was initially scheduled in December but was later postponed due to COVID19 restrictions. Another issue that Golovkin has to face is that it is going to be his first time in super-middleweight if their third fight ever happens.
