Canelo Alvarez wants out.
The Mexican star has sued Oscar De La Hoya, Golden Boy Promotions and DAZN not only for $280 million in damages, he’s also seeking to sever ties with the promotional company and streaming service, according to The Athletic.
The complaint alleges breach of contract and intentional interference, according to the 24-page suit.
Alvarez hasn’t fought since he stopped Sergey Kovalev in the 11th round to win a light heavyweight title in November. Since then, with the coronavirus pandemic as a background, the fighter and his handlers reached an impasse over who he would fight and how much he would be paid.
“I’m the pound-for-pound number one [boxer] in the world,” The Athletic quoted Alvarez as saying. “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.
“I filed the lawsuit so I can get back to boxing and give my fans the show they deserve.”
The impasse seems to have come down to DAZN’s demand that Alvarez fight Gennadiy Golovkin a third time – which it believes would drive subscriptions – and the streaming service’s refusal to pay him a guaranteed $35 million unless he does.
The relationship between Alvarez and his handlers wasn’t perfect but it was working as recently as early this year.
Boxing Junkie’s No. 3 fighter pound-for-pound had agreed to face British super middleweight titleholder Billy Joe Saunders in May. He was to receive his guaranteed rate for that fight only because he agreed to face Golovkin four months later, according to The Athletic.
However, after the matchup was scrapped because of COVID-19 and no Alvarez-Golovkin fight was in sight, DAZN reportedly indicated it would not pay Alvarez $35 million for a fight against any opponent it deemed second-rate.
Alvarez was willing to discuss a compromise but DAZN, according to The Athletic, wasn’t willing to budge. That evidently led to the lawsuit.
Alvarez also has been at odds with Golden Boy, which he claims promised DAZN it would deliver a third Alvarez-Golovkin fight without consulting him first.
However, Golden Boy spokesman Stefan Friedman said no promises were made.
“Nobody from Golden Boy ever promised anyone that Canelo would fight any specified opponent,” Friedman told The Athletic. “We simply agreed to put on the kind of premier, history-making fights we worked on together in 2019. Canelo’s beef is with DAZN. They’re the ones refusing to honor the contract.”
The $280 million is the amount Alvarez believes he’s owed for the remaining eight fights on his original $350 million deal.
