Canelo Lvarez Suing Dazn And Golden Boy Over Failure To Deliver Fights
Boxing star seeking at least US$280m in damages, alleging negligence and fraud.
- Suit claims DAZN and Golden Boy failed to deliver plans for 2020 bouts
- Promoter accused of fraud in attempt to engineer third Gennady Golovkin fight
- Filing submitted as DAZN reportedly scales back Americas operations
Mexican boxing star Saul CaneloÁlvarez is suing his promoter Oscar De La Hoya and broadcast partner DAZN over their alleged failure to deliver on the terms of his US$365 million contract signed in 2018.
The civil suit filed with a US district court in California, which was published in full by The Guardian, alleges both DAZN and De La Hoyas Golden Boy Promotions respective contract breaches have caused the four-weight world champion damages of at least US$280 million equivalent to the total owed in fees for the eight remaining fights on his contract.
The complaint also sees Álvarez seeking to recover damages related to breaches of fiduciary duty, good faith and fair dealing, intentional interference with contract, negligent interference with contract and fraud. The fighter is also demanding to be freed from the three-way partnership.
The lawsuit states Álvarez was guaranteed payments totalling US$365 million over 11 fights under the terms of the contract signed in October 2018. His first bout under contract was with Rocky Fielding and worth US$15 million, with each of the remaining ten contests to pay Álvarez US$35 million.
Canelo Alvarez Sued Golden Boy Promotions/dazn Tuesday
The sorted soap opera between four division World Champion, Canelo Alvarez,, his promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, and the DAZN streaming service finally has boiled over Tuesday and its apparently to the point of no return.
This after Alvarez filed suit in US District Court in Southern California to break his contract with Oscar De La Hoyas boxing promotion and DAZN.
The 24-page lawsuit requests the court to immediately hear his case that his contract with Golden Boy and their deal with DAZN has irreparably harmed him and kept him from consistently fighting over the last two years.
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Alvarez asked the court for at least $280 million, or what is still roughly the balance of his original 11-fight $335 million deal with DAZN signed in 2018. That part of the court filing says,
Despite Alvarez successes, both DAZN and Golden Boy have broken the promises they made to each other, Alvarez, and boxing fans in doing so Defendants have breached their respective contracts and caused Alvarez damages of at least $280 million.
Alvarez, hired the Maloney Firm from El Segundo, California, and is being represented by Attorneys Gregory Smith and Patrick Maloney, according to the filing of the suit.
The suit has 10 complaints including allegations of: breach of contract, intentional interference with contract, negligent interference with contract, fraud concealment, breach of fiduciary duty and seeking of declaratory relief .
That reads in part,
Alvarez’s Manager Announced That He Would Be Open To A Possible Fight This Year
Boxing fans have not seen the sport’s biggest star in the ring in over one year, but that might change before the end of 2020. Canelo Alvarez is now a promotional free agent after reaching an agreement to sever ties with Golden Boy Promotions and DAZN on Friday. The super middleweight champion ended his lengthy legal battle with his promoter and U.S. TV provider.
“In my role as a manager and coach of Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, I allow myself to communicate to the boxing community and to all our fans, that starting today, November 6th, Canelo becomes a free agent, so we are ready to continue with his boxing career,” manager Eddy Reynoso stated in a press release.
“All this time we have been working very hard in the gym with a lot of responsibility and discipline, to be in great physical shape and ready to fight this year and it will be! “We will announce date, rival and place very soon, and we will return stronger than ever to keep growing and showing that Mexican boxing is the best.”
Alvarez has seen his career drag to a standstill as the issues with Golden Boy and DAZN have intensified.
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Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya confirmed the news with his own statement on Friday.
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Was Dazn Losing Money On Alvarezs Fights
DAZN hasnt said whether they lost money on Canelos three fights with them against the non-popular fighters he picked. They were obviously hoping Canelo would jump straight into a trilogy match with Gennady Golovkin after they inked him in 2018.
Its baffling why Canelo didnt face Golovkin already. Canelo had to know that DAZN wanted him to fight GGG, so why didnt he do it? Hes been with DAZN for two years now, and you think he would have already done that.
If Canelo is released from his contract with DAZN, he might not be able to make anywhere near the $35 million per fight that they were paying him.
To even get $20 million, it would require that Canelo fight on pay-per-view, and he would need to face guys that would sell.
That probably means that more comfortable options like Avni Yildirim, Billy Joe Saunders, and Callum Smith would be out. Those wouldnt be big enough names for Canelo to fight on pay-per-view and bring in significant numbers. Canelo wouldnt be able to make $20 million fighting one of the guys mentioned above.
Even in a good economy in the U.S, Canelo fighting the likes of Yildirim, Saunders, and Smith would be poison in terms of PPV buys. The fans arent dumb. They know a mismatch when they see one, and theyve just seen Canelo take three sure-thing fights against Jacobs, Kovalev, and Fielding.
Canelo Lvarez Sues Dazn And Oscar De La Hoya For Breach Of $365m Contract
- Boxer says parties have failed to deliver on guaranteed payment
- Álvarez, 30, seeks compensatory damages of no less than $280m
- Four-division champion has been inactive since November 2019
Mexican boxing superstar Saul Canelo Álvarez is suing longtime promoter Oscar De La Hoya and upstart streaming service Dazn over their alleged failure to deliver as promised on a $365m contract that was touted as the richest in the history of sport when he signed it less than two years ago.
The civil suit filed on Tuesday in US district court for the central district of California, a copy of which has been obtained by the Guardian, alleges both Dazn and De La Hoyas Golden Boy Promotions have breached their respective contracts with the four-weight world champion, causing damages of at least $280m.
According to the 24-page complaint, Álvarez also seeks to recover damages related to breach of fiduciary duty, breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing, intentional interference with contract, negligent interference with contract and fraud, among other transgressions.
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The impasse will almost certainly result in Álvarez, the lineal middleweight champion who has captured world titles in every division from 154lbs to 175lbs, going more than a year without a fight at the peak of his career.
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Dazn Needs A Quality Fight
If Canelo is going to fight in November or December, then itll be not very helpful unless he faces someone good enough to beat him potentially. Fans want to see drama, and theyre not going to get that if Canelo faces Yildirim, Saunders, or Callum Smith.
Wheres the sense of obligation from Canelo and Golden is what I want to know. If youre trying to impress your employer, you dont do it by cherry-picking the weakest champions like Fielding, Kovalev, and Jacobs.
To impress DAZN, Golden Boy should have matched Canelo against this murders row in his three fights with them thus far:
- Gennady Golovkin
- David Benavidez
- Artur Beterbiev
Had Canelo fought those three fighters in his first three matches with DAZN, my guess is there would be no problems at all with the streaming giant. They would likely be quite pleased with how things have gone in terms of subscribers.
Of course, Canelo might have lost to all three of those guys, but he would have at least brought in a vast number of subscribers. Its about keeping the client happy, and Canelo would have done that by giving DAZN value for their money.
In Canelos case, he did the opposite of that. He took on arguably the weakest of the champions at 168 at the time in Rocky Fielding. Things didnt get better, unfortunately, as Canelo did the same thing in choosing to face IBF middleweight champion Danny Jacobs in 2019 and then WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev.
Canelo Alvarez’s Split From Golden Boy Promotions Is Official
Middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez officially became boxing’s biggest free agent after agreeing to a split with Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions, his manager announced on Friday.
Eddy Reynoso, who also coaches the four-division champion from Mexico, said in a statement “we are ready to continue with his boxing career.”
Reynoso said Alvarez is hoping to fight as soon as Dec. 19 against an opponent to be determined. The announcement comes after a new round of negotiations this week to settle a lawsuit refiled in September against DAZN streaming service and Golden Boy that claimed breach of contract for a 10-fight, $365-million deal signed in 2018.
“All this time we have been working very hard in the gym with a lot of responsibility and discipline, to be in great physical shape and ready to fight this year and it will be!” Reynoso wrote in the statement. “We will announce date, rival and place very soon.”
Alvarez, 30, has a record of 53-1-2 with 36 knockouts. He has not fought since defeating Sergey Kovalev on Nov. 2, 2019.
De La Hoya acknowledged the split with Alvarez in his own statement.
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How Canelos Situation Impacts Ggg
The situation has wide-reaching tentacles and is causing issues for DAZN, which signed Alvarez to a $365 million deal last year that was among the richest in sports history.
Its impacting former champion Gennadiy Golovkin, who signed with DAZN in April after he changed his mind on a handshake deal with ESPN and Top Rank to fight on its platform. Golovkin had second thoughts because going to DAZN was his only way to land a bout with Alvarez.
Alvarez and Golovkin fought a pair of fights that each did over 1 million sales on HBO Pay-Per-View and which had the third- and fourth-highest grossing gates in Nevada history. Their first bout, on Sept. 16, 2017, did a gate of $27.1 million. The rematch, on Sept. 15, 2018, had a $24.5 million gate.
The only two fights that had larger gates in boxing history were Floyd Mayweather fights against Manny Pacquiao in 2015 and Conor McGregor in 2017 .
DAZN is attempting to change the big-fight paradigm from a pay-per-view model to a subscription model and hoped to use a third Alvarez-Golovkin fight, and an Anthony Joshua heavyweight title fight, as drivers to sell yearly subscriptions.
But Alvarez has a deep dislike for Golovkin, based largely on the comments Golovkin made about him after Alvarez failed two drug tests. Alvarez insisted hed eaten contaminated meat, but Golovkin didnt buy it and blasted him.
That led to harsh feelings which havent abated.
Thats an issue for DAZN to sort out, though.
Canelo Alvarez On Oscar De La Hoya: He Doesnt Do Anything In Golden Boy Hes Worried About Drinking
Canelo Alvarez has revealed his disdain for Oscar De La Hoya, and said his former promoter cared more about drinking than boxing.
Canelo Alvarez and Oscar De La Hoyas contentious relationship is no secret.
The two men worked together for years as De La Hoyas Golden Boy promotions helped guide Alvarez to the top of the sport. That relationship, however, ended when Alvarez took legal action against Golden Boy and De La Hoya after he found out they had made deals with DAZN in his name without his knowledge.
Speaking to Graham Bensinger, Alvarez the entire thing came down to loyalty.
Look, I dont like to talk much about people, but Ive been a very loyal person, always. And I was very loyal, always with Golden Boy. is not Golden Boy. He doesnt do anything in Golden Boy. Hes worried about drinking, and being involved in other things The decisions are made by other people. When Richard Schaefer left Golden Boy, he took all the boxers to PBC. He took all of them. And he also wanted to take me and I was the only boxer that stayed with Golden Boy, because Im a loyal man. But then, later I understood why everyone had gone and why Richard Schaefer left. Because those who are in Golden Boy, they are only looking after their own benefit, not the boxers benefit.
Now, Alvarez is a free agent who is in a position as boxings superstar to promote himself. Something, he says, has been a game changer.
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Canelo Exit Leaves Big Hole For Dazn
Its a body blow for DAZN, too, even though it removes a financial obligation that had quickly become a millstone.
DAZN has done precious few boxing cards since the pandemic, and while it is slowly beginning to be more active, it doesnt have a guy like Alvarez who will be able to drive subscriptions.
It is also stuck with the bloated contract of Gennadiy Golovkin, who earns $7.5 million in cash and $7.5 million in equity for each fight. Without Alvarez and with both Charlo brothers fighting for the Premier Boxing Champions, there are no notable opponents for Golovkin at DAZN.
But its going to pay him an astronomical amount to fight second-tier opposition. That isnt going to end well.
DAZN will have a big event whenever unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua fights, but Joshuas star in the U.S. dimmed after his stunning 2019 loss to Andy Ruiz. Even though he won the rematch decisively, it was hardly dynamic and didnt endear him to the American fan base.
So DAZN is going to find rough sledding persuading customers to subscribe, or keeping existing subscriptions.
It has a fight featuring promising lightweight Devin Haney, who on Saturday meets 2004 Olympic gold medalist Yuriorkis Gamboa. But its little more than a showcase bout for Haney, who holds the WBC title but still hasnt fought a highly regarded, prime opponent.
With Kevin Iole – Yahoo Sports combat columnist
Dazn Gets Canelo And Golden Boy Content
CANELO ALVAREZ & GOLDEN BOY PROMOTIONS SIGN HISTORIC FIVE-YEAR PARTNERSHIP WITH GLOBAL SPORTS STREAMING LEADER DAZN
DAZN Will Stream Next 11 Canelo Fights & Up to 10 Golden Boy Cards Per Year
Deal Begins Dec. 15 with Canelo vs. Rocky Fielding at Madison Square Garden
NEW YORK, Oct. 17, 2018 Canelo Alvarez the undisputed king of pay-per-view boxing will usher in a new era in the sport by signing an 11-fight deal with global sports streaming leader DAZN. The journey begins Saturday, Dec. 15 when Canelo makes his first appearance at the historic Madison Square Garden challenging Rocky Fielding for his WBA Super Middleweight World Title. This groundbreaking deal with Canelo will be the richest athlete contract in sports history.
As part of the partnership, Golden Boy Promotions will put on up to 10 high-caliber fight nights per year that will stream live on DAZN beginning in early 2019.
The historic deal marks a major change in the boxing landscape, where its biggest stars traditionally fought on pay-per-view. Now, sports fans can view Canelos fights and the deep Golden Boy Promotions stable for a low monthly subscription cost. These fights will be available in all DAZN markets, including the United States, Canada, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan.
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Canelo Could Fight Saunders Or Smith In November
If Canelo had fought Kovalev back in 2012 when the Russian fighter was still in his prime, it would have been a premier event since then. Nowadays, Kovalev has been looking old, losing to Andre Ward x 2 and Eleider Alvarez.
In Kovalevs fight before facing Canelo, he went life and death with the inexperienced Anthony Yarde. The British fighter Yarde would have been lucky to last two rounds against IBF/WBC 175-lb champion Artur Beterbiev, and yet he came close to beating Kovalev.
Golden Boy should have understood that it wasnt a good idea for them to match against Kovalev, Fielding, or Jacobs. If youre trying to bring in subscribers to DAZN and kept them happy, youve got to give them the fights that they want.
So if they wanted Golovkin, then, by all means, Golden Boy should have given them that in their first fight. To make DAZN happy, Canelo should have fought Golovkin twice in 2019. If you know that DAZN wants Canelo to fight Golovkin, why wouldnt you give them that?
If theres a sudden change in the coming weeks, which looks doubtful right now, one potential date for Alvarezs return is Nov. 14, per sources, likely against Callum Smith or Billy Joe Saunders, the same options from earlier this year, said Coppinger.
Oscar De La Hoya Shares Theory On Why Canelo Alvarez Split From Golden Boy
Oscar De La Hoya has theorized why Canelo Alvarez made the decision to depart from Golden Boy Promotions.
De La Hoya and Canelo had a falling out, which led to a lawsuit that was settled out of court. Canelo ended up being granted his wish to explore other options as a free agent. As a result, he will challenge Callum Smith for the WBA Super-Middleweight Title on December 19 under Matchroom Boxing.
Appearing on SiriusXM Boxing and DAZNs The Ak & Barak Show, De La Hoya said that while he isnt clued in on why Canelo left from a promotional standpoint, he does have a theory.
I til this moment cannot really figure out exactly what we did wrong as a promotional company because everything we do is by the book. Everything we do is at the highest level. Our track record speaks for itself. Aside from Top Rank, because theyve been doing this for the longest time. Theyve been doing this forever. Aside from Top Rank and Bob Arum, whos like the messiah of boxing, aside from them the only other promoter who can penetrate this U.S. market, the only other promoter who knows how to stage the biggest events possible is Golden Boy Promotions.
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