Alvarez became the undisputed super-middleweight world champion for the second time on Saturday night and it could only get better for the Mexican
Canelo Alvarez could be on the verge of making history by becoming the first ‘billion dollar boxer’.
This year kicked off with Alvarez supposedly gearing up for a bout with YouTube sensation-turned-boxer Jake Paul, but in an unforeseen twist, the Mexican star had a change of mind. Instead, he inked an extremely profitable four-fight contract with Riyadh Season – a deal unveiled in February by Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh, thus killing the potential clash with the ‘Problem Child’.
As per recent calculations made by Prime Casino and given the staggering $400 million (£302m) value of his new deal, ‘Saul’ is destined to pocket an impressive £175m this year alone. This mammoth sum earmarks him as the highest-earning athlete globally in terms of career earnings.
The 34-year-old became the undisputed super-middleweight world champion for the second time when he outpointed Scull in Saudi Arabia. All three judges gave the Mexican the nod, by scores of 115-113, 116-112 and 119-109. However, it was an uninspiring fight as the pair combined landed the fewest punches in a 12-round fight in boxing history.
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Even with that lacklustre performance, the prospect for ‘Saul’ looks incredibly bright, with predictions of him becoming the inaugural billion dollar boxer as mentioned by his business manager, Richard Schaefer. Speaking to The Ring, the ex-Golden Boy CEO had high praise for Alvarez: “Canelo is, without any question, the smartest businessman in boxing I have ever met. And we are going to get him over that next hurdle… He’s going to be the first fighter to break the billion dollar net worth. I have zero questions about it. When? Probably next year.”
Speaking of his bond with the Mexican boxer, Schaefer said, “I’m very fortunate. I started with him when he was 17 years old. I’ve known him since then and now he’s 34. We worked together during the Golden Boy days and always had an amazing relationship and friendship with him. And then he reached back out. We stayed in touch. We were friends. We called each other.
“We met each other. But I was sort of retired, I’ve done my thing in boxing and was happily retired. And then he called me and he said, ‘Look, it would be great to have you back. Come and help me with everything.’ He’s my friend. So I’m very happy to do that. I’m thrilled, excited to be working for him and with him, handling all different aspects; fight negotiations, all these other businesses, everything.”
After clinching another triumph in the ring, the expectation is set for the Mexican champion to collide with Terence Crawford at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on September 12. In what looks set to be one of the biggest fights of the year, both fighters joined in the centre ring for a tense face-off ahead of the bout – which is set to see both men rewarded handsomely.
