Saul Alvarez Net Worth (Money & Salary)

What is Saul Alvarez’s Net Worth and Career Earnings?

The professional Mexican boxer known as Saul Alvarez, or “Canelo,” boasts a net worth of $250 million in the Light Middleweight division. Recognized as a four-division world champion, Canelo has been acclaimed as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the sport. Throughout his career, Saul Alvarez has proven to be a formidable contender for nearly every opponent he has faced.

Beginning his professional journey at the age of 15, Canelo quickly showcased his skills. He has gone on to acquire multiple world championships across four weight classes, including the light middleweight, middleweight, super middleweight, and light heavyweight divisions.

Among his significant achievements are winning the WBC, WBA (Super), and Ring magazine light middleweight titles in 2011, as well as the unified WBA (Unified), WBC, Ring, and lineal middleweight titles in 2015. In December 2020, he made history by becoming the first boxer to unify the WBA (Super), WBC, and Ring magazine super middleweight titles. His ascent to the light heavyweight division in 2019 resulted in him claiming the WBO title.

Business Ventures

Beyond his boxing career, Canelo manages an expanding business empire. He has established a chain of gas stations called “Canelo Energy” in Mexico, alongside 20 convenience store locations named “Upper.” Additionally, he has launched a clothing line and developed a fitness app.

In 2023, he introduced a canned cocktail made from tequila named VMC and also established a sports drink brand called Yaoca.

In contrast to many athletes, Canelo has been quite discerning in his choice of endorsement partners. Currently, his main endorsement deal involves a contract worth $2 million annually with Anheuser-Busch.

Contracts

On October 17, 2018, Canelo Alvarez entered into a five-year fight contract valued at $365 million with Oscar De La Hoya’s promotion company and DAZN. This deal encompasses 11 fights, commencing with his matchup against Rocky Fielding on December 15, 2018, in New York.

From June 2018 to June 2019, Canelo amassed $95 million from his ventures. In the subsequent year, he earned $40 million, followed by $90 million between June 2020 and June 2021.

Early Life

The full name of Saul Alvarez is Santos Saúl Álvarez Barragán, born on July 18, 1990. Although he came into the world on the outskirts of Guadalajara, his family relocated to Juanacatlan when he was five years old. As the youngest of seven siblings, he was raised on the family’s farm, where all six of his brothers also pursued professional boxing careers. In his younger years, Saul had a passion for horseback riding. He is recognized for his unique red hair, a rarity in Mexico, which inspired his nickname “Canelo,” meaning “cinnamon” in Spanish.

At the age of 13, Saul Alvarez took up boxing, inspired by his older brothers. His amateur achievements quickly became noteworthy, winning a silver medal at the Mexican Junior Championship before claiming gold the following year when he was just 15.

Career

Alvarez turned professional shortly after his gold medal victory. Although fighters typically do not debut at the age of 15, Alvarez made the leap because no one was willing to face him. Despite facing much older opponents, he managed to knock out the majority of them. In 2006, he secured the welterweight title.

Subsequently, Alvarez transitioned to light middleweight, capturing the WBC silver title in 2010. In the same year, he became the first boxer to score a knockout against Carlos Baldomir. He continued to defend his title successfully, culminating in a victory over Austin Trout in 2013. Later that year,

Against Floyd Mayweather, Alvarez faced a significant defeat.

Following this setback, Saul Alvarez achieved numerous victories, kicking off with a win against Alfredo Angulo in 2014. Another pivotal triumph occurred in 2015 when Alvarez triumphed over Miguel Cotto, securing the WBC, Ring, and lineal middleweight championships. He went on to defend these titles with an impressive knockout of Amir Khan.

In 2016, Alvarez moved down a weight class to challenge Liam Smith for the WBO light-middleweight world title, which he claimed with a powerful body shot. After extensive negotiations, Alvarez squared off against Julio Cesar Chavez Junior, winning by unanimous decision. This set up an eagerly anticipated bout: Alvarez vs. Golovkin.

Negotiations for the Golovkin fight had been ongoing for several years leading up to its official announcement. In September 2017, the matchup resulted in a split decision declaring the fighters as equals. A rematch was soon established, slated for May 2018. However, Alvarez tested positive for a prohibited substance and subsequently received a six-month suspension. Oddly enough, Golovkin was stripped of his title as well.

Despite the complications, both fighters prioritized the rematch, which was eventually arranged for the same year after further negotiations. Alvarez emerged victorious once again through a controversial decision, with many fans and media outlets believing Golovkin deserved the win.

After a win in the super middleweight class, Alvarez returned to the middleweight division to defeat Daniel Jacobs. He then ascended two weight classes, winning against Sergey Kovalev in the light heavyweight category in 2019.

Saul Alvarez Major Purse History

$1.2 million: Sugar Shane Mosely

$2 million: Josesito Lopez

$12 million: Floyd Mayweather

$5 million: Miguel Cotto

$25 million: Amir Khan

$40 million: Gennady Golovkin I

$30 million: Gennady Golovkin II

Total: $115 million

Boxing Style

Known for his excellent counterpunching skills, Saul Alvarez effectively identifies and capitalizes on openings in his opponents’ defenses. His powerful body punches, frequently ending with strikes to the liver, are another hallmark of his fighting style. Moreover, while his head movement adds a layer of vulnerability, it also presents opportunities. Canelo displays remarkable boxing intelligence in nearly every match, cleverly setting traps for his opponents using inventive combinations that keep them on their toes. He tends to conclude fights with these combinations; thus, a sequence of more than three landed punches often signals the end of the bout.

Career Earnings

Throughout his career to date, Canelo has amassed $600 million before taxes from various revenue streams.

A staggering $65 million offer was made to Manny Pacquiao to face Saul in Mexico, but Pacquiao declined the opportunity.

Alvarez would continue to have numerous opportunities for significant earnings in prominent fights. He earned a purse of $1.2 million on May 5th, 2012, when he faced and defeated Sugar Shane Mosley. On September 16th, 2012, Saul Alvarez prevailed against Josesito.

In a match against Lopez, he earned a $2 million purse plus a knockout bonus of $100,000 from Golden Boy Promotions.

For the fight against Mayweather, Saul obtained a purse of $5 million along with a share of PPV profits, culminating in a total of $12 million. Saul Alvarez also earned a purse of $5 million on November 21, 2015, when he triumphed over Miguel Cotto. HBO reported 900,000 PPV buys during that bout, leading to $58 million in domestic revenue. In May 2016, when Saul defeated Amir Khan, he earned an estimated $15 to $25 million, with the NCAS announcing a live gate of over $7 million.

From June 2017 until June 2018, Saul accumulated $44 million from both endorsements and boxing purses. He made over $40 million from his fight with Golovkin, which ESPN reported had a live gate exceeding $20 million. In their subsequent fight in September 2018, Canelo was assured $25 million just to attend. Additionally, their rematch resulted in over $94 million in PPV buys.

Between June 2022 and June 2023, Saul’s earnings from all income sources reached $110 million.

DAZN Deal and Lawsuit

In 2018, Alvarez signed a $365 million agreement with DAZN, ensuring that his next ten fights would be aired through them. At that time, this was one of the largest sports contracts ever made. Thanks largely to this agreement and several endorsements, Canelo earned $95 million from his various income streams between June 2018 and June 2019.

The arrangement was designed to be straightforward. DAZN planned to compensate Golden Boy with $40 million per fight for ten fights from 2019 to 2020, with Canelo’s share being $35 million per fight.

In September 2020, Canelo initiated a breach of contract lawsuit against DAZN, Golden Boy Promotions, and Oscar De La Hoya, the CEO of Golden Boy. At the time of the lawsuit filing, his last fight had been in November 2019 against Sergey Kovalev.

The lawsuit demanded $280 million in damages alongside lost gate and sponsorship revenue. Tensions escalated among the parties over the year, and at the time of filing, it was anticipated that Canelo would not fight at all in 2020. Reportedly, DAZN expressed dissatisfaction with the fighters Canelo chose, deeming them not “premier.” Additionally, DAZN allegedly proposed offering him half of his guaranteed $35 million purse to compete against Billy Joe Saunders, which was declined. The central issue of the lawsuit lies in Canelo’s desire to either receive the $35 million he asserts he is owed for fighting his chosen opponents under DAZN and Golden Boy or to exit his contract to pursue fights independently. Canelo maintained that the contract allowed him the freedom to select future opponents alongside Golden Boy, and he further alleged that a separate agreement existed between Golden Boy and DAZN that granted DAZN the power to approve or reject potential opponents.