SPORTS SHORTS 124: CANELO ALVAREZ TO EARN AN APPROXIMATE $35 MILLION, BILLY JOE SAUNDERS $5 MILLION IN UNIFICATION FIGHT
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 07 May 2021
Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders fight on May 8, with three super middleweight belts at stake in one of the biggest fights so far since the pandemic struck last year. The fight will be staged at the AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, United States.
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The venue will be fully compliant with the latest COVID-19 pandemic protocols. It will be the second time that Canelo will fight at the venue and will be Saunders' first.
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The fight fans are eager to get back into stadia and to witness boxing fights live, so this big event is attracting gigantic interest and could earn both protagonists millions of revenues.
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Canelo is the biggest attraction between the two fighters, and he also possesses two titles WBA (Super) and WBC with Saunders' one WBO title. That's why Canelo will take the bigger purse.
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Alvarez is set to take $15 million from the purse of the fight, and then 60% of the pay-per-view, plus other bonuses which could earn him a total revenue of $35 million.
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Canelo reportedly earn around $35 million for each of his fights. His match with Avni Yildirim gave him that figure, and he will grab the same amount in his clash against Saunders.
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Before those fights, he is said to have earned $12 million for his fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013, $25 million against Amir Khan in 2016, and $70 million for his two top grossing bouts with Gennadiy Golovkin. These would amount his income to approximately $140 million.
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Saunders is not an attractive draw like his Mexican foe, so he is targeted to earn $5 million total revenues, with $2.5 million is the guaranteed purse. With PPV sales and other bonuses, the $5 million will probably be the biggest he will ever garner in one fight.
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Saunders is considered as a talented boxer. But he has not attracted so much fans than what Canelo has done. He has reportedly earned a meager amount compared to Alvarez's total income. Saunders is believed to double his total career earnings in this unification fight.
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Many experts consider Alvarez as the best active fighter in the world pound-for-pound and has not lost a fight in nearly eight years. His only defeat was a majority decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. on September 14, 2013, for the WBA (Super) light middleweight crown.
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It was fought before a sold out crowd of 16,746 in the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada. Judge C. J. Ross scored the fight 114–114 draw. Judge Dave Moretti had it 116–112, and Craig Metcalfe scored it 117–111 for Mayweather.
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Since then, he has won 13 bouts with one draw, including six by knockout. He defeated the following opponents:
Mexican Alfredo Angulo by 10th round TKO
Cuban-American Erislandy Lara by split decision American James Kirkland by 3rd round KOPuerto Rican Miguel Cotto by unanimous decision
British Amir Khan by 6th round KO
British Liam Smith by 9th roundKO
Mexican Julio César Chávez Jr. by unanimous decision
Kazakhstan's Gennady Golovkin by majority decision in their rematch
British Rocky Fielding by 3rd round TKO
American Daniel Jacobs by unanimous decision
Russian Sergey Kovalevby 11th round KO
British Callum Smith by unanimous decision
Turkish Avni Yıldırımby 3rd TKO
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In their first bout in front of a sold-out crowd of 22,358, Canelo and Golovkin fought to a split draw (118–110 Álvarez, 115–113 Golovkin, and 114–114 draw).
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Saunders, who turned pro in 2009, has been impressive and undefeated all throughout his professional career. He has a 30-0 record with 14 wins by knockout.
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In his last fight in December, he defeated British Martin Murray by unanimous decision to retain the WBO super middleweight crown. Before that, he knocked out Argentina's Marcelo Esteban Coceres in the 11th round in a WBO title fight at Staples Center in Los Angeles in November of 2019.
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SAUL ALVAREZ RECORD AND BIO
Real name: Santos Saúl Álvarez Barragán
Nickname: Canelo ("Cinnamon")
Born : July 18, 1990 (age 30) in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Height : 5-8
Reach : 70.5 inches
Stance: Orthodox
Total fights : 58
Record : 55-1-2 with 37 knockouts
KO Rate: 63.79%
Rounds: 417
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BILLY JOE SAUNDERS RECORD AND BIO
Born: August 30, 1989 (age 31) in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England
Nickname:Superb
Height : 5-11
Reach : 71 inches
Stance: Southpaw
Total fights : 30
Record : 30-0 with 14 knockouts
KO Rate: 46.67%
Rounds: 214
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CANELO VS. SAUNDERS FULL CARD
Canelo Alvarez vs. Billy Joe Saunders in a WBC/WBA/WBO Super middleweight unification
Elwin Soto vs. Katsunari Takayama for Soto’s WBO junior flyweight title
Kieron Conway vs. Souleymane Cissokho; junior middleweight
Marc Castro vs. Irving Macias Castillo; junior lightweight
Frank Sanchez vs. Nagy Aguilera; heavyweight
Keyshawn Davis vs. Jose Antonio Meza; lightweight
Kelvin Davis vs. Jan Marsalek; Junior welterweight
Christian Alan Gomez Duran vs. TBA; welterweight
Mate Parlov of Croatia/Yugoslavia won the 1968 Mexico and 1972 Munich gold medals in the light heavyweight class. He became professional world champion winning the WBC light heavyweight title (1978-1978).
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Floyd Patterson of USA won the 1952 Helsinki Olympic gold medal in the middleweight class. He became professional world champion winning the undisputed heavyweight (1956-1959) and undisputed heavyweight (1960-1962) titles.
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The Brooklyn Nets have been playing without All-Star guard James Harden since early April. But the 2018 NBA MVP is planning to get back to action early. Harden told reporters he is “very confident” he will be back before the 2020-21 regular season ends. His plan is to play two games before the 2021 playoffs begin on May 22.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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