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18th September 2020
By: BOXING GURU
Boxing has slowly been making a return to our TV screens since the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but fans are yet to see the biggest name in the sport, pound for pound number 1, Canelo Alvarez return to action.
Alvarez last fought in November 2019, when he stopped WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev in 11 rounds. Alvarez was scheduled to fight on the Mexican holiday, Cinco de Mayo, but plans were put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Without the crowd attending big fights, promoters and TV networks are missing out on a big chunk of cash, which for them, would go towards financing Canelo’s lucrative $365 million five-year, 11 fight deal.
Canelo is claiming $280 in losses (the remaining amount of Canelo’s contract) alleging breach of respective contracts by Golden Boy Promotions & DAZN.
Canelo said in a statement last week, “I’m the pound for pound number one in the world. 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 suit states: ”After extended discussions between the parties, DAZN offered to pay Alvarez and Golden Boy Promotions a fraction of the contracted $40 million license fee in cash and some DAZN stock in advance of a potential IPO. However, the entire value of the package – for a bout against another world champion – was substantially less than Alvarez’s contractual guarantee.”
It continued, “Given that DAZN had made it clear that it would not honor its contract, throughout the spring and summer of 2020, Alvarez repeatedly asked Golden Boy Promotions to explore alternative broadcast options for a fall 2020 bout. Although Golden Boy Promotions reported that it was talking to various broadcasters, it failed to put forth a single alternative plan by which it would pay Alvarez the $35 million it had promised him for each of his fights.”
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The suit alleges that there are inconsistencies between the contracts Canelo has with Golden Boy and DAZN, specifically regarding future opponents and who has approval rights over those opponents – a statement that American promoter Lou Dibella agrees with…
“The deal that Canelo has with Golden Boy doesn’t appear to jive with the deal that Golden Boy made with DAZN, and there appears to have been a very shocking lack of transparency and communication. So it’s no accident that they are in this situation,” said DiBella.
“Is it reasonable for DAZN to say, ‘I paid 35-40 million for fight A, B, and C and it didn’t move the needle enough? So now I’m insisting on a huge fight.”
“By filing the lawsuit, Canelo’s lawyers have opened the door to direct conversations between Canelo and DAZN, and those direct conversations may well be Oscar’s worst nightmare. And the reason why those conversations probably haven’t happened in total candor previously is because Golden Boy is the promoter.”
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Stefan Friedman, a spokesperson for Golden Boy, said in a statement that “Canelo’s beef is with DAZN.”
“They’re the ones refusing to honor the contract by not approving the outstanding opponents we have presented to them and by refusing to pay the contractually required amount. Contrary to the complaint, Golden Boy has an equal approval right over Canelo’s opponents. Nobody from Golden Boy ever promised anyone that Canelo would fight any specified opponent. We simply agreed to put on the kind of premiere, history-making fights we worked on together in 2019.”
A court in California dismissed Canelo’s lawsuit in its current form after a ‘technical flaw’ was made in their original documentation – which is now being amended. Alvarez now has until September 28 to file a First Amended Complaint. Failure to do so or adequately allege the District Court’s jurisdiction will potentially result in an outright dismissal.
One thing is for sure, with no fight scheduled and legal proceedings in motion, it sadly could be while before we see the Mexican superstar back in action.
