DAZN announced that the Andy Ruiz-Anthony Joshua heavyweight rematch on Dec. 7 was the most watched sporting event on its platform in 2019.
The Andy Ruiz-Anthony Joshua heavyweight rematch on Dec. 7 was the most streamed event on DAZN in 2019, the company announced.
This is the first time that the over-the-top streaming service has released figures pertaining to its viewership, although it stayed mum on its total subscriber base. Its executives in the past have said that it does plan to provide those numbers anytime soon.
DAZN, which operates in nine countries, also announced that it doubled its viewership of all sports in 2019, citing 507 million streamed hours, or a 98% increase from 2018.
Three other boxing cards were among the 10 most-streamed events. No. 4 was the Canelo Alvarez-Sergey Kovalev light heavyweight title fight, followed by KSI-Logan Paul II at No. 5 and the Alvarez-Daniel Jacobs middleweight title fight at No. 10.
In all, DAZN users spent 22.6 million hours watching boxing events. By comparison, soccer, the company’s most-watched sport, logged 314.6 million hours.
Golden Boy Promotions President Eric Gomez believes 168 pounds is the best weight for Canelo Alvarez at this stage of his career.
Canelo Alvarez’s immediate future remains up in the air.
Golden Boy Promotions President Eric Gomez told ESPN.com that Alvarez will fight next on May 2, which was expected. He generally fights on Cinco de Mayo weekend.
Who will he fight? No one is off the table, although Brits Callum Smith and Billy Joe Saunders seem to be in the mix.
The only thing that seems likely is that Alvarez will fight at or around 168 pounds, although anything is possible in that regard too. He’s coming off a KO victory over Sergey Kovalev to win a 175-pound belt in November but gave it up.
“I personally feel that’s the best weight class, where he’s going to be the best at, at this point in his career,” Gomez said. “That’s the weight class he’s going to feel the best, the strongest. But it doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t go back to light heavyweight, he still has that possibility.
“Giving up the title, yes, it was about the weight, but it wasn’t all about the weight.”
A fight with Smith or Saunders makes sense because it would allow Alvarez to win a 168-pound title and enhance his exposure in the U.K., wherever the fight takes place. Alvarez beat Rocky Fielding to win what the WBA calls its “regular” super middleweight title but Boxing Junkie doesn’t recognize that belt.
Of course, Alvarez could also fight Gennadiy Golovkin a third time.
“We’re not ruling out anybody – everybody, even at 160 pounds,” Gomez said. “If he wants to go back to 160 pounds or if there’s any of the champions that want to move up, face him, we’re not ruling anything out.”
Jean Pascal and Badou Jack are both fighting to stay in title contention in the light heavyweight division.
Jean Pascal just wouldn’t go away.
The Haitian-Canadian, known as much for his fighting spirit as his skill set, lost a decision and his light heavyweight title to Bernard Hopkins in 2011. He bounced back. He was stopped by Sergey Kovalev in two title fights, in 2015 and 2016, and simply got back to work. He lost a decision to Eleider Alvarez in 2017 and then titleholder Dmitry Bivol last year, which seemed to signal the end of his career as an elite fighter.
Not quite. Pascal got one more big fight – against Marcus Browne in August – and this time his persistence paid off. Pascal, 36 at the time, won a close, eight-round technical decision after Browne was cut by an accidental head butt to remain in the 175-pound title hunt.
Pascal fights Badou Jack on the Gervonta Davis-Yuriorkis Gamboa card Saturday in Atlanta on Showtime.
“I’ve been fighting at the highest level for the last 11 years,” Pascal (34-6-1, 20 KOs) said. “That means something. I’m a special fighter. I have things that nobody can teach, which is a chin and a heart.”
Jean Pascal (left) and Badou Jack are both fighting to remain in title contention in the light heavyweight division. Amanda Westcott / Showtime
Jack (22-2-3, 13 KOs) hasn’t fought for almost a year, since he suffered a ghastly cut on his forehead in a unanimous-decision loss to Browne last January.
Before that, the former super middleweight titleholder had his own share of disappointment. Most recently, he had to settle for draws in two of his previous three fights – against James DeGale and Adonis Stevenson – that some believe he deserved to win.
Jack, 36, also is fighting to remain in the thick of things. That fact isn’t lost on Pascal.
“I know that Badou has had a long layoff and he’s fresh and will be even hungrier. I’m always hungry and that will make it a great fight on Saturday night,” Pascal said.
For his part, Jack can’t wait to get into the ring.
“I guess you have to wait until Saturday night for me to prove that I still have it,” Jack said. “I was flat against Marcus Browne, regardless of the cut, but I feel much better this time than I did heading into that fight.
“All of the close decisions I’ve had in the past, everyone who watched those fights knows that those were wins. Saturday night I’m going to win and there will be no doubt.”
Pascal, now 37, doesn’t plan to go away just yet.
“Badou Jack is a solid fighter with great defense and good attack,” he said. “I’ve had a great camp in Puerto Rico. I’ve been away from my family for three months and I’m war ready. Make sure you tune in.”
Two Boxing Junkie staffers picked Canelo Alvarez for their Fighter of the Year, one went with Naoya Inoue.
The process of selecting a Fighter of the Year comes down to two factors: level of opposition and results.
A number of elite fighters faced high-level foes and had favorable results. That would include Canelo Alvarez, Manny Pacquiao, Naoya Inoue, Errol Spence Jr., Josh Taylor and a few others. A case can be made for each.
For this post, Boxing Junkie staff members selected their personal Fighter of the Year. And if majority rules, we came up with a collective winner: Alvarez.
Here are our choices for Fighter of the Year and thoughts:
Alvarez defeated Jacobs by a unanimous decision in May, although the fight was close. And he closed out the year by moving up two divisions and knocking out Kovalev in the 11th round last month.
That’s a strong year.
Alvarez’s performance against Kovalev wasn’t great – the fight was tight on the cards at the time of the stoppage – but the ending was spectacular.
I think Alvarez’s principal rival for the award is the ageless Pacquiao, who, at 40 years old, easily outpointed Adrien Broner and then defeated Keith Thurman by a unanimous decision.
That’s a fine year but, if we want to quibble, the smallish Broner has never performed well at welterweight and Thurman was still in the process of coming back from a long layoff, although the latter victory by Pacquiao was still special.
Canelo Alvarez moved up two weight classes to face Sergey Kovalev and stopped him. AP Photo / John Locher
SEAN NAM
Choice: Canelo Alvarez
Sure, Sergey Kovalev was past his prime, but how many fighters would skip two weight classes to challenge perhaps the most accomplished light heavyweight of the past half decade?
Alvarez did exactly that and did not disappoint, applying methodical pressure before scoring a vicious 11th round knockout last month.
And at middleweight Alvarez outpointed top contender Danny Jacobs.
Naoya Inoue of Japan (right) and Nonito Donaire turned in a classic last month, with Inoue emerging victorious. Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP via Getty Images
Inoue gets the nod over Alvarez because of just one fight. Inoue’s dramatic victory over Nonito Donaire was one for the ages, a Fight of the Year in just about any year.
Canelo had a good year, beating Danny Jacobs, who in retrospect might have been drained in his battle to make weight. On the morning of the bout, he missed a weight mandated by a dehydration clause. Against Sergey Kovalev, Canelo was a finisher – meaning he ended any debate in a 11th-round stoppage. Yet it often looked as if Kovalev was there only to pick up a paycheck.
In Inoue-Donaire, there were no questions, no doubt in either corner about what had transpired. On every level, it was a classic. Win it, and you are Fighter of the Year.
Canelo Alvarez isn’t the only presumably unhappy Golden Boy fighter. Joseph Diaz Jr. had some harsh words for the promoter in an interview.
You can add Joseph Diaz Jr. to the shortlist of disgruntled Golden Boy Promotions fighters.
The junior lightweight contender recently went on Sirius XM’s Fight Nation radio show to discuss his title fight against Tevin Farmer on the Demetrius Andrade-Luke Keeler card Jan. 30 in Miami. When asked about his thoughts on his promoter, Diaz expressed dissatisfaction.
“I would say not too happy, not too happy, man,” Diaz (31-1-0, 15 knockouts) said. “I would say after the Gary Russell (featherweight title) fight (in 2018) they (Golden Boy) didn’t really promote me or do anything as much as they should.
“They gave me a another world title fight against Jesus Rojas, but I just felt that they started to treat me like an opponent, started to treat me like I’m not the fighter that [has] the talent like I do.”
It’s the latest sign of discontent from within Oscar De La Hoya’s promotional stable. Things became icy between cash cow Canelo Alvarez and De La Hoya, as they barely acknowledged one another in the lead-up to Alvarez’s bout against Sergey Kovalev on Nov. 2. Around the same time, Ryan Garcia engaged in a war of words with his promoters before cooler heads prevailed and Garcia was pacified with a lucrative new contract.
Most recently, former junior lightweight titleholder Andrew Cancio spoke out against Golden Boy ahead of his title-losing bout against Rene Alvarado. Afterward, Golden Boy cut Cancio from its roster.
Diaz didn’t mince his own words. The former Olympian truly believes he has been neglected after coming up short against Russell.
“With Jesus Rojas, they had me fighting on Facebook Watch, a brand new network where hardly anybody is going to be watching that,” Diaz said. “I had a good purse with Gary Russell Jr. and with Jesus Rojas I had a really sh– purse, and I accepted it because I knew that I had lost and that I had to work my way up.”
Canelo Alvarez is relinquishing his light heavyweight title, opening the way for him to fight at 160 or 168 pounds in his next bout, in May.
Canelo Alvarez is relinquishing the light heavyweight title he took from Sergey Kovalev, opening the way for him to fight at middleweight or super-middle in his next bout, expected in May.
Canelo, still the reigning middleweight champion, announced the move Tuesday in a statement released by Golden Boy Promotions.
“I know that my accomplishments in the ring have brought pride to my fans and my country,” said Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs), who scored an 11th-round stoppage of Kovalev on Nov. 2 in Las Vegas. “I have long enjoyed my relationship with the WBO (World Boxing Organization) and appreciate all they do to preserve and enhance the sport of boxing.
“This agreement allows the WBO to have its light heavyweight title contested regularly and allows me to pursue bouts against the best opponents, regardless of weight class.”
The move appears to eliminate any immediate chance of Alvarez fighting Artur Beterbiev, who holds two 175-pound belts. Before and after Canelo’s victory over Kovalev, Beterbiev was mentioned as a possibility. And for now, a fight between Canelo and fellow Mexican Gilberto Ramirez, the WBO’s No. 1 ranked contender at 175 pounds, is also off the board. That matchup would’ve been a big event for Canelo’s expected date celebrating Cinco de Mayo.
However, a third fight with middleweight Gennadiy Golovkin still appears to be an option.
Canelo, who has a win and draw against Golovkin, has said he no longer sees Triple-G as a challenge. However, he has also said he would do a third fight if it made financial sense. It is believed that a third fight would be a big money maker. It’s also doable. Both Canelo and GGG are tied to DAZN.
Canelo, 29, has shown no interest in Demetrius Andrade, a 160-pound belt holder, whom he called “boring.’’ Another possibility is Jermall Charlo, another titleholder.
Canelo Alvarez told DAZN during Ruiz-Joshua II that he would be willing fight in Saudi Arabia, England or Japan in the near future.
Boxing’s biggest cash cow may be taking his show on the road.
Two-division titleholder Canelo Alvarez was in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia to support countryman Andy Ruiz Jr. in his highly anticipated heavyweight rematch against Anthony Joshua, who wound up winning a wide decision to regain his heavyweight titles.
Alvarez, who is coming off a 11th round knockout of Sergey Kovalev to win a light heavyweight title, gave an interview during the DAZN broadcast discussing his plans. He, for one, is not opposed to staging his next fight in the Arabian desert.
“Of course, why not?” Alvarez said. “It’s an excellent opportunity. Of course, I can see myself fighting anywhere in the world.”
Alvarez has fought exclusively in North America, with the majority of his fights taking place in Las Vegas. He has also fought in San Antonio and New York City.
Alvarez continued: “I can see myself fighting here (Saudi Arabia), fighting in Japan, in England. Believe me, this is something. What a moment it would be for my career to fight anywhere in the world for the right opportunity.”
In Japan, Alvarez has a potentially lucrative matchup against domestic middleweight star Ryota Murata. Previously, there were talks about Alvarez’s arch-nemesis Gennadiy Golovkin facing Murata at the Tokyo Dome but nothing ever materialized. An Alvarez-Murata fight would be even bigger.
In England, there are options with super middleweights Callum Smith and Billy Joe Saunders, although the former is probably a more marketable fight. Smith’s brain trust have been vocal about facing Alvarez.
Is it time to give Deontay Wilder pound-for-pound consideration? The short answer is “no.” That’s not a knock on Wilder, who deserves respect for what he has accomplished over the past five years. It simply means that he isn’t among the 15 best …
Is it time to give Deontay Wilder pound-for-pound consideration? The short answer is “no.”
That’s not a knock on Wilder, who deserves respect for what he has accomplished over the past five years. It simply means that he isn’t among the 15 best fighters in the world regardless of weight, which is what pound-for-pound is.
First of all, Wilder isn’t even the top heavyweight. The vast majority of those who saw his draw with Tyson Fury last December thought Fury, who is included in “Honorable Mention” here, deserved the decision even though he went down twice.
Honest observers have to be able to see through poor judging when assessing fighters.
And we have to stick with the definition of pound-for-pound. Consider this question: If Vassily Lomachenko and Terence Crawford were 6-foot-4 and around 220 pounds yet retained their skills and speed, how would they fare against Wilder?
Wilder’s punching power can be the deciding factor against anyone. At the same time, the heavyweight titleholder has never faced boxers with anywhere near the ability of Lomachenko and Crawford. The closest we could come to them in terms of skill set throughout history is Muhammad Ali, who was a once-in-a-century talent.
Deontay Wilder should be admired for his string of knockouts but he’s not a pound-for-pounder yet. Ryan Hafey / Premier Boxing Champions
We imagine that Lomachenko and Crawford would drive Wilder mad with their mobility, their quickness, their overall ability. Luis Ortiz, who Wilder stopped with one punch in the seventh round Saturday in Las Vegas, is a good boxer but he’s light years behind our Nos. 1 and 2 pound-for-pound.
The only fighter better than Ortiz on Wilder’s resume is Fury and we know what happened there. Who else has he beaten? His next toughest opponent might’ve been Bermane Stiverne, who isn’t exactly the type of fight against whom you demonstrate your pound-for-pound credentials.
To be fair to Wilder, we should mention that heavyweights are at a disadvantage against smaller fighters in this discussion. A man 6-foot-7, like Wilder, just can’t be expected to move like a smaller fighter. And smaller fighters can move up in weight in pursuit of more opportunities to prove their mettle.
Wilder understands that.
“When you’re dealing with the pound-for-pound list, I really don’t think it belongs in the heavyweight division,” Wilder said the news conference following the Ortiz fight. “We can only be in one division. We can’t go up and down like all of the smaller fighters, so it doesn’t really apply to us.”
We don’t agree completely. Again, Fury is an “honorable mention” here. And, certainly, Ali, Larry Holmes and perhaps other big men had the unusual ability to crack the pound-for-pound list during their eras.
For now, though, we believe it’s best to appreciate Wilder’s chilling knockouts and refrain from comparing him to the best all-around fighters in other divisions. And we can have this discussion again if he knocks out Fury.
Check out our Top 15 list below. And let us know what you think.
BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND
Vasiliy Lomachenko
Terence Crawford
Canelo Alvarez
Naoya Inoue
Oleksandr Usyk
Gennadiy Golovkin
Errol Spence
Juan Francisco Estrada
Mikey Garcia
Artur Beterbiev
Josh Taylor
Manny Pacquiao
Srisaket Sor Rungvisai
Leo Santa Cruz
Kosei Tanaka
Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Miguel Berchelt, Mairis Briedis, Tyson Fury, Shawn Porter, Julian Williams
Sergey Kovalev posted an Instagram Live video over the weekend complaining about his knockout loss to Canelo Alvarez on November 3.
Excuses? Explanations? You decide.
In an Instagram Live video posted recently, former light heavyweight titleholder Sergey Kovalev sounded off – in Russian – about his knockout loss to Canelo Alvarez on Nov. 2, claiming that the deck was stacked against him from the very start and that he did not have an ideal training camp.
Alvarez, moving up from middleweight, scored a vicious knockout of Kovalev in the 11th round to take Kovalev’s piece of the light heavyweight crown. For his trouble, Kovalev earned a reported $12 million payday, a portion of which went to co-promoters Top Rank and Main Events.
Kovalev’s spiel on a recent episode of the Everlast Talk Box podcast was translated. Here are four takeaways:
He entered entered training camp for the Alvarez fight weighing 211 pounds (96 kilograms), when he normally walks around at 190 pounds (86 kilograms).
There is no guarantee that he will return to the light heavyweight division, as he suffered from insomnia and loss of appetite as he was trying to make weight.
He admitted that he accepted the Alvarez fight for money and asserted that he didn’t have enough time to recover from his fight against Anthony Yarde in August. Kovalev stopped the Briton in the 11th round after nearly getting knocked out himself earlier in the fight.
And people who bet on him to win in an attempt to “get rich quick,” as opposed to his true fans, were “losers”
There are heightened stakes and perhaps some additional pressure on Callum Smith on Saturday in a super middleweight bout as critical as any in his unbeaten career. He faces John Ryder. But it is more than just another fight. It’s a projected …
There are heightened stakes and perhaps some additional pressure on Callum Smith on Saturday in a super middleweight bout as critical as any in his unbeaten career. He faces John Ryder. But it is more than just another fight.
It’s a projected springboard for Smith (26-0, 19 knockouts), who has hopes for bigger names, bigger crowds and bigger money in 2020.
You’ll find Smith’s name on a list of possible opponents for Canelo Alvarez, who figures to fight again in May. A fight at light heavyweight against Sergey Kovalev has also has been mentioned.
Mostly, there’s been talk about a 168-pound showdown with U.K. rival Billy Joe Saunders in March or April at Anfield, a Liverpool soccer stadium with a seating capacity of about 54,000. Promoter Eddie Hearn foresees a huge crowd for that one. But there’s already talk that Saunders, who failed to impress in a stoppage of Marcelo Coceres on Nov. 9, isn’t a big enough name.
“It’s an opportunity, and we will see what happens,” Smith trainer Joe Gallagher told The Mirror, a U.K. newspaper “But we don’t want Anfield with just 10,000 there. We want Anfield with a proper dance partner.
Callum Smith (right) is coming off an impressive knockout of Hassan N’Dam in June. Timothy A. Clary / AFP via Getty Images)
“From what I hear about Billy Joe Saunders, he either wants to move back down to middleweight or get the Canelo fight. But I don’t think Billy Joe Saunders would bring 30-40,000 in.
“Just look at his last fights. We will just have to wait and see. But, first and foremost, we have to take care of John Ryder, and he’s in the form of his life.”
Gallagher knows about the perils of looking ahead instead of focusing on the immediate. Ryder (28-4, 16 KOs), a mandatory challenger for Smith’s belt, has some momentum. He’s won four straight since dropping a split decision to Rocky Fielding on April 22 ,2017.
Smith fights Ryder at the 11,000-seat Echo Arena, also in Liverpool, Smith’s hometown, on DAZN in the U.S. and Sky Sports in the U.K.
“We haven’t see the best of Callum Smith yet,” Gallagher said. “That’s the frightening thing. Against George Groves (on Sept. 28, 2018), I was really annoyed that he stopped (Groves) in the seventh round because he had so much more to show in terms of shot selection.
“Listen, he’s still got huge potential and hopefully John Ryder will be able to bring another skill set out of Callum for everyone to sit back and say he is the real deal. We did testing last week and everything is the best it’s been. His weight is down. That tells you everything that he won’t take any challenge lightly. He’s absolutely on it.’’
