By Sean Jones: Canelo Alvarez and DAZN are reportedly at odds on his next fight on September 12 over the issue of the streaming giant wanting to take a pay cut.
DAZN allegedly wants the Mexican superstar Canelo (53-1-2, 36 KOs) to take a lesser amount for his next fight on their platform, according to ESPN.
What we don’t know is if DAZN can contractually lower the amount they pay Canelo for his next fight this year.
You would assume that there would have to be something in the contract that allows them to make this move.
Callum Smith, the WBA 168lb champion, is said to be the guy that Alvarez and Golden Boy both want for the September 12 date. But with DAZN supposedly wanting Canelo to come in at a lower price than the $33 million he gets typically per fight, the clash against the unbeaten Smith (27-0, 19 KOs) can’t get finalized.
Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr now fighting on 9/12
Callum is about as well-known in the U.S as Canelo’s 2018 opponent Rocky Fielding. DAZN likely has already used Canelo’s match with Fielding to estimate the number of subscribers he’ll bring in for his fight with Smith.
Times were good economically in the U.S in 2018, so it’s entirely possible that Canelo vs. Smith will bring in even fewer subscribers than the Fielding fight. There are more Americans unemployed now, and unable to subscribe to see Canelo fight a guy from England that they’ve never heard of before.
To add to Canelo and DAZN’s woes is the recent announcement of boxing great Mike Tyson coming out of retirement to face Roy Jones Jr in an eight-round exhibition match on pay-per-view September 12. Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but the date of the Tyson vs. Jones fight is at the same time as Canelo’s next fight against Smith or whoever.
If Canelo chooses not to move from that date, DAZN is going to bring in very few subscribers on the night likely. DAZN can do big numbers for the September 12 date, but it would require that Canelo fight one of these fighters:
- Artur Beterbiev
- Dmitry Bivol
- David Benavidez
- Jermall Charlo
- Caleb Plant
Alvarez doesn’t plan on fighting any of those guys. The names that have been floated for Canelo’s September 12 fight have mediocre to stay the least.
These are the fighters that are currently in the running for Canelo’s next fight:
- Jason Quigley
- Tureano Johnson
- Willie Monroe Jr
- Callum Smith
- Anthony Dirrell
- John Ryder
Canelo’s potential opponents aren’t popular
With those names having been floated as Canelo’s possible opponent for September 12, it’s not surprising if DAZN is interested in having him take a pay cut. None of those fights are going to bring in subscribers for DAZN, not one. They’re astute enough to know that the U.S boxing fans won’t be willing to throw what little money they have into a subscription to watch Canelo fight another mediocre opponent.
Canelo signed an 11-fight, $365 million deal with DAZN in 2018, and it was thought that he would be motivated to take on the very best each time out. Instead, we’ve seen Canelo fight Rocky Fielding, Sergey Kovalev, and Daniel Jacobs in his first three fights with DAZN.
The streaming giant wanted Canelo to fight Golovkin last year, but instead, he chose to face Jacobs and 36-year-old Kovalev. That was a big mistake on Canelo’s part, as he would have helped DAZN immensely had he fought Golovkin in 2019.
“If it’s up to him and him only, he would’ve already announced the fight. There’s obviously other parties and other things involved that are out of his control,” said Canelo’s lawyer Greg Smith to ESPN.
“Everybody, including Team Canelo, is waiting to find out if DAZN’s going to live up to its obligations.”
By making the move to fight Daniel Jacobs and Kovalev, Canelo put his rivalry with Golovkin at risk, as the Kazakhstan fighter was forced to face another opponent in Sergiy Derevyanchenko, and he almost lost to him.
Alvarez should have fought Golovkin in 2019
Golovkin 38, no longer has the youth, and Canelo should have taken the fight with him in 2019 rather than waiting until potentially 2021 to make it. Some boxing fans think this is part of Canelo’s plan to age GGG by making him wait a long time before fighting him again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D49bvTftza4&t=132s
Whatever the reason for Canelo’s decision not to fight Golovkin last year, it messed things up with DAZN. A third Canelo-Golovkin fight would have brought in a massive amount of subscribers to DAZN in 2019.
At the time of the fight with Canelo, Jacobs was arguably the sixth-best fighter at 160. He wasn’t anywhere near the #1 guy in the middleweight.
Kovalev was the fourth-best fighter at 175. As for Rocky Fielding, he was viewed as the weakest link among the 168-lb champions when Canelo fought him in 2018.
Canelo could have fought a better champion at super middleweight to win a belt, but he chose Fielding, a guy that casual U.S boxing fans have never heard of. In other words, Canelo showed himself to be an opportunist by picking out the least threat to beating him when he challenged for world titles in 2018 and 2019.
If your DAZN, it’s understandable why they might want Canelo to come in at a discount price for September 12.
We’ve got a witches brew of problems that could lead to Canelo’s next match against Callum, bringing in very few subscribers for DAZN.
Fighting Callum Smith won’t bring in subscribers
These are the problems that would hurt DAZN if Canelo faces Smith on September 12:
- Pandemic – very boxing fans have money to subscribe during this period. With a lot of people unemployed, they won’t be capable or motivated to subscribe or reactivate their suspended accounts ith DAZN.
- Lack of popularity of Callum Smith. While it may seem like a big deal that Canelo wants to fight a world champion in Callum for his September 12 fight, the problem is, he’s NOT accessible in the United States. That’s the reality of it. It’s undeniable that the stork-like 6’2″ Smith has no fan base in America, not even with the hardcore boxing fans. So, if Canelo chooses Smith as his next opponent, it would be the same thing as it was when he fought former WBA secondary 168-lb champion, Rocky Fielding. DAZN has already given Canelo three opponents haven’t moved the needle. Consequently, why would they give him the green light for a fourth?
- Canelo’s opponent selection since signing with DAZN. Alvarez has consistently without fail picked the wrong guys for his first three fights with DAZN. You can argue that Canelo should have done the right thing for DAZN by giving them what they wanted in facing Golovkin in 2019 instead of facing the old-timer Kovalev and Jacobs, who was already beaten by GGG. Additionally, Canelo should have fought Artur Beterbiev or Dmitry Bivol last year when he decided to go up to 175 to fight for a world title belt. Picking Kovalev, who boxing fans overwhelmingly saw as past his prime, looked like a cherry-picking move. Had Canelo fought IBF/WBC 175lb champ Beterbiev (15-0, 15 KOs) or WBA belt holder Dmitry Bivol (17-0, 11 KOs), he would have received a lot of attention from fans. Those two are considered the best at 175.
- The common names floated for Canelo’s September 12 date. DAZN has people that work for them that know boxing, and they likely weren’t pleased hearing the news about Golden Boy looking at possibly matching Canelo against John Ryder, Jason Quigley, or Anthony Dirrell. When fans heard that Golden Boy is considering those fighters for Canelo, many of them felt that they were going to use his next fight to take an easy job. That might work for Canelo since he’s got a huge contract, but it doesn’t DAZN if he picks someone that won’t bring in the subscribers.
De La Hoya calls Alvarez’s potential opponents “GREAT”
Canelo may have no choice but to take a pay-cut or his next fight if DAZN can contractually lower the amount for his next match. That’s something that would need to be worked out among Canelo’s lawyer and DAZN.
Of course, if this drags on for months, then it’s clear that Canelo won’t be able to fight in September anyway. Depending on how long he’s butting heads with DAZN, he may have to sit out for the remainder of the year if they don’t come to a quick agreement.
“We [Canelo and Golden Boy Promotions] have come up with a list of great opponents for a premium fight on Mexican Independence Day. We are still waiting for DAZN to approve one of those great fights,” said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya.
“Canelo and Golden Boy intend to put on a fight in September and expect that DAZN will honor their obligation and give fight fans what they deserve.”
It seems like De La Hoya is throwing fuel on the fire by describing Canelo’s potential opponents as being “great fights.” If Oscar sincerely believes that Quigley, Tureano, or Ryder are “great fights,” it’s troubling.
What message does that send fans that De La Hoya views those guys as a good match-up for Canelo? It might be a beautiful thing for Alvarez to get another soft opponent for an easy payday, but it’s not going to help DAZN bring in the subscribers.