DAZN evidently doesn’t like the sound of a Canelo Alvarez-Avni Yildirim fight.
A day after the WBC ordered an Alvarez-Yildirim fight for its vacant 168-pound title, BoxingScene.com is reporting that the streaming service is not willing to pony up the funds to showcase that fight.
Alvarez has a long-term contract with DAZN.
Yildirim (21-2, 12 KOs) is ranked No. 1 by the sanctioning body but doesn’t have the following or reputation to stir interest as the “B” side to Alvarez. The Turk is a solid fighter but nowhere near the class of Alvarez. He was stopped in three rounds by Chris Eubank Jr. in 2017 and lost a technical decision to Anthony Dirrell in February.
Alvarez evidently still wants to wants to fight this year but will have to find an opponent with whom both he and DAZN are comfortable. He has courted a number of viable foes – including titleholder Callum Smith — but no deal has been struck.
Also, it’s not clear whether DAZN will pay Alvarez what he demands to step back into the ring amid the coronavirus pandemic. BoxingScene reported that DAZN has offered him roughly half of the $40 million he received for his fights against Daniel Jacobs and Sergey Kovalev.
Thus, Alvarez’s immediate fate remains uncertain.
Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs) stopped Kovalev in 11 rounds to win a light heavyweight title last November, his most-recent fight.
The WBC title became vacant when then-beltholder David Benavidez failed to make weight before his 10th-round stoppage of Roamer Alexis Angulo this past Saturday. Yildirim was expected to face the winner of that fight for the belt.