Mexican boxer Canelo Álvarez has signed the richest athlete’s contract in sports history with a five-year deal worth at least US $365 million.
The 28-year-old unified middleweight world champion signed the 11-fight agreement early this morning with all-sports streaming service DAZN.
“Canelo is the highest-paid athlete in the world,” said his promoter, Oscar de la Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions. “He’s extremely happy.”
Raised in Tlajomulco de Zúñiga and Juanacatlán, Jalisco, Santos Saúl Álvarez Barragán is multiple world champion in two weight classes and is ranked one of the top three boxers in the world.
He is the youngest of eight children, seven of whom are boys and also professional boxers.
The most lucrative sports contract until now was a $325-milion agreement between baseball player Giancarlo Stanton and the Miami Marlins in 2014.
The first fight of the contract will be Álvarez’s move up to super middleweight and a challenge against Rocky Fielding on December 15 in New York.
DAZN is a new streaming service that only just launched in the United States last month.
Source: CBS Sports (en)
