By Christopher Canelo

When boxing’s Saul “Canelo” Alvarez signed a five-year, $365 million deal with DAZN in October, he set the pace for athlete sports contracts, with it being the largest in sports history at the time.

At 28, Alvarez (51-1-2, 35 KOs) is coming off a fourth-round TKO over Rocky Fielding in which Canelo claimed the WBA “regular” super middleweight title. Alvarez also is the WBC, WBA, Lineal and Ring Magazine middleweight champion after his majority-win over Gennady Golovkin in September.

Alvarez’s contract has since been passed by Mike Trout, but it’s still the second-richest athlete deal in sports history. Let’s take a look at how Alvarez has accumulated his fortune and where he stands among the wealthiest athletes (and celebrities) in the world.

Canelo Alvarez professional earnings

According to Forbes’ World’s Highest Paid Athletes series, Alvarez earned $42 million for his two bouts in 2017 with the help of each match generating over one million pay-per-view purchases. Estimates concerning his overall take in the September 2018 bout with Golovkin were as high as $50 million.

In the 11-fight agreement with DAZN, Alvarez will average over $33 million per fight just to show up. Before signing with DAZN, Alvarez was under his second fight contract with HBO with a five-fight hiatus to Showtime in between.

Alvarez declared himself ready to live up to the DAZN deal.

“I’ve always liked a challenge, and this is yet another challenger in my career,” Alvarez said. “Being part of this historic deal will require me to prepare myself even more and offer fans even better performances. At the same time, I am humbled to be selected to lead this new vision for the sport of boxing, which will without a doubt be for the benefit of the fans.”

Canelo Alvarez endorsements

As one might expect, Alvarez’s popularity lends itself to lucrative endorsement deals on top of the sizable purse earnings.

Alvarez has been endorsed by Under Armour since May 2012, with the sportswear giant housing branded Alvarez gear and the boxer wearing the company’s attire during training and bouts. At the time of the agreement, Alvarez stressed how Under Armour would aid his performance and push other Mexican athletes.

“Everyday I focus on getting better and Under Armour is the perfect partner to help me improve my training and performances,” explained Alvarez. “I look forward to the advantages Under Armour products will provide and working with the brand to help motivate athletes in Mexico, and across the world, to reach their full potential.”

Alvarez’s Mexican heritage made him a perfect fit with Tecate (a beer producer), which was enabled by his promoter Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions.

Alvarez also partnered with cognac purveyor Hennessy in September 2017, working under its mantra “Never Stop. Never settle.”

Finally, Alvarez and Everlast connected in 2014, as he agreed to wear only Everlast gloves and train with the company’s equipment. Everlast completed a full build-out of Alvarez’s gym and the boxer is one of the company’s faces in consumer and retail marketing initiatives.

Canelo Alvarez social media influence

Alvarez, like many professional athletes, takes significant advantage of his social media presence. With over 4.5 million followers on Instagram, 2.99 million followers on Facebook and 1.33 millionfollowers on Twitter, Alvarez’s reach is quite large. Alvarez’s posts frequently promote his endorsements and, of course, upcoming bouts.

Canelo Alvarez charities

Alvarez has made sure to give back to his community since turning pro.

Alvarez, then 20-years-old, donated time in Veracruz providing motivational speaking to youngsters in the region. Alvarez also played a part in building a youth institute after which he was honored by the city.

“I am delighted to be back in Veracruz, and I’m happier for coming to support projects of the Youth Institute, because I am part of young people who in the future want to do something for Mexico,” Alvarez said, according to BoxingScene.com.

Alvarez donated $1 million worth of supplies, medicine and construction materials and assisted volunteers in his hometown of Guadalajara after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit central and southern Mexico back in September 2017, ESPN reported.

The bottom line

Alvarez’s total estimated earnings as of June 5, 2018 of $44.5 million ranked him 15th in Forbes’ report with fellow boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., who counts as the only blemish on Alvarez’s record, at the top of the list at $285 million. Alvarez was ranked second in the group of boxers and 62nd in Forbes celebrity rankings. This is certainly bound to change in Forbes’ next renditions, with Alvarez’s new contract boosting his earning power and fortune.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Alvarez’s estimated net worth is $100 million. As Alvarez is still a young man, his potential to monumentally build his fortune knows no bounds.

Article courtesy of Christopher Carelli & Sporting News