Canelo Alvarez signs highest-earning sports contract of all time

Woof

Canelo Alvarez, fresh off his razor-thin split decision 'victory' over Gennady Golovkin, which, in this writer's opinion, was an absolute shambles of a result, has signed the highest-earning sports contract of all time. The contract will see the Mexican middleweight earn a staggering $365 million minimum over the course of 11 fights over the next five years. The deal is with sports streaming service DAZN and means an average take of $33 million per fight. For comparison, Alvarez took home around $50 million for his blockbuster second showdown with Golovkin, which had the fourth largest-grossing gates in Nevada boxing history. The boxer is represented by Golden Boy Promotions, the stable led by former champion Welterweight Oscar De La Hoya, the highest pay-per-view earner in boxing before Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao arrived on the scene. ESPN, Turner Sports and Showtime were all thought to be major contenders for the boxer's signature after his deal with HBO finished after the second Golovkin match-up. Alvarez's deal is the richest athlete contract in sports history, eclipsing the 13-year, $325 million agreement that batter Giancarlo Stanton signed in 2014 with the Miami Marlins. His next fight will be against Rocky Fielding at New York's Madison Square Garden on December 15 and the Guadalajara native has a strong chance of being named Forbe's Richest Athlete in 2019, particularly if a third bout with Golovkin materialises. Lionel Messi, who earned $111 million last year, is likely to be his main competition for the highest-earning athlete title, but reports indicate that Alvarez could have earned upwards of $120 million for 2018 by the time of his debut fight with DAZN.