Saul Alvarez Net Worth (Money & Salary)

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

Known as “Canelo,” Saul Alvarez is a professional boxer from Mexico who competes in the Light Middleweight division and boasts a net worth of $250 million. Canelo Alvarez is celebrated as a champion across four weight divisions and is often referred to as the best pound-for-pound boxer in boxing history. Throughout his career, Saul Alvarez has established himself as a tough challenger for nearly every fighter he has encountered.

Starting his professional journey at the age of 15, Canelo quickly demonstrated his boxing skills. Over the years, he has earned several world titles across four different weight classes: light middleweight, middleweight, super middleweight, and light heavyweight.

His notable achievements consist of securing the WBC, WBA (Super), and Ring magazine light middleweight titles in 2011, followed by the unified WBA (Unified), WBC, Ring, and lineal middleweight titles in 2015. A significant milestone came in December 2020, when he became the first boxer to unify the WBA (Super), WBC, and Ring magazine super middleweight titles in history. Moving to the light heavyweight division in 2019, he captured the WBO title.

Business Ventures

Canelo has expanded his horizons beyond the boxing ring and is now at the helm of an expanding business empire. His entrepreneurial pursuits include owning a chain of gas stations in Mexico, branded “Canelo Energy,” as well as 20 convenience store locations named “Upper.” Additionally, he has ventured into a clothing line and developed a fitness app.

In 2023, he introduced a canned cocktail featuring tequila called VMC, and also kicked off a sports drink brand known as Yaoca.

In contrast to many other professional athletes, Canelo has consistently been discerning in selecting his endorsement partners. Currently, his primary endorsement agreement is a contract with Anheuser-Busch worth $2 million annually.

Contracts

On October 17, 2018, Canelo Alvarez entered a 5-year, $365 million fight agreement with Oscar De La Hoya’s promotion company and DAZN. This deal encompasses 11 fights, beginning with his bout against Rocky Fielding on December 15, 2018, in New York.

From June 2018 to June 2019, Canelo earned $95 million from his various endeavors. The subsequent 12 months brought him $40 million, while between June 2020 and June 2021, he raked in $90 million.

Early Life

Saul Alvarez was named Santos Saúl Álvarez Barragán and was born on July 18, 1990. He initially came into the world on the outskirts of Guadalajara before his family relocated to Juanacatlan when he was five. As the youngest of seven siblings, Alvarez grew up on his family’s farm, where all six of his brothers also pursued professional boxing careers. In his early years, Saul had a penchant for horseback riding. He is also notably recognized for his unusual red hair, a rarity in Mexico, leading to his nickname “Canelo,” which translates to “cinnamon” in Spanish, referring to his hair color.

At the age of 13, Saul Alvarez began boxing, influenced by his older brothers. His early amateur achievements were noteworthy, earning him a silver medal at the Mexican Junior Championship, followed by a gold medal a year later when he turned 15.

Career

After claiming the gold medal, Alvarez quickly turned professional. While debuting at 15 is uncommon for amateur boxers, Alvarez transitioned early because opponents were hard to find. Despite facing significantly older fighters, he demonstrated his prowess by knocking out the majority of his competitors. He captured the welterweight title in 2006.

Following this, Alvarez moved up to the light middleweight category, winning the WBC silver title in 2010. That same year, he also made history as the first boxer to knock out Carlos Baldomir. Alvarez continued to defend his titles effectively …his title repeatedly, culminating in a victory over Austin Trout in 2013. However, later that same year, Alvarez faced a significant setback with a loss to Floyd Mayweather.

Following this, Saul Alvarez achieved numerous victories, beginning with a win against Alfredo Angulo in 2014. A pivotal success arrived in 2015 when he defeated Miguel Cotto, thereby securing the WBC, Ring, and lineal middleweight titles. He defended these titles impressively with a knockout against Amir Khan.

In 2016, Alvarez moved down in weight to challenge Liam Smith, the reigning WBO light-middleweight world champion, and claimed the title with a powerful body shot. After extensive negotiations, he fought Julio Cesar Chavez Junior, winning by unanimous decision, which paved the way for the highly anticipated matchup: Alvarez versus Golovkin.

Years of negotiations led to the official announcement of the Golovkin fight. In September 2017, the bout ended in a split decision, declaring the fighters as equals. A rematch was inevitable and slated for May 2018. Unfortunately, Alvarez tested positive for a prohibited substance and received a six-month suspension. In a strange turn of events, Golovkin was also stripped of his title.

Despite the complications, both fighters prioritized the rematch, which was finally arranged for 2018 after lengthy negotiations. Alvarez emerged victorious again in another controversial decision, with a significant number of media outlets and fans believing Golovkin had won.

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

Saul Alvarez Major Purse History

Sugar Shane Mosely: $1.2 million

Josesito Lopez: $2 million

Floyd Mayweather: $12 million

Miguel Cotto: $5 million

Amir Khan: $25 million

Gennady Golovkin I: $40 million

Gennady Golovkin II: $30 million

Total: $115 million

Boxing Style

Saul Alvarez is recognized for his exceptional counterpunching skill; he adeptly identifies and capitalizes on minor openings in his opponents’ defenses. His powerful body punches are also well-known, often concluding exchanges with strikes aimed at the liver. Furthermore, Alvarez demonstrates impressive head movement, which, while it can lead to vulnerability, also offers strategic advantages. Canelo has repeatedly showcased his remarkable intellect in the ring, employing intricate combinations to set traps for opponents. When he successfully lands more than three punches in succession, it often signals the end of the bout.

Career Earnings

Throughout his career to date, Canelo has amassed $600 million pre-tax from various sources.

A startling offer of $65 million was extended to Manny Pacquiao to face Saul in Mexico, but Pacquiao opted out.

Alvarez would have numerous chances to earn substantial sums in future major fights. On May 5th, 2012, he earned a purse amounting to $1.2 million.

Saul Alvarez faced Sugar Shane Mosley and subsequently emerged victorious. On September 16, 2012, he overcame Josesito Lopez, earning himself a $2 million purse along with a $100,000 knockout bonus from Golden Boy Promotions.

For his bout against Mayweather, Saul garnered a $5 million purse plus a share of PPV profits, which resulted in a total of $12 million. Following his victory over Miguel Cotto on November 21, 2015, Saul secured another $5 million. That fight reportedly attracted 900,000 PPV buys, translating to $58 million in domestic revenue according to HBO. In May 2016, Alvarez’s earnings were estimated between $15 and $25 million after he defeated Amir Khan, with NCAS noting a live gate exceeding $7 million.

From June 2017 to June 2018, Saul accumulated $44 million through endorsements and his boxing purses. He earned upwards of $40 million from the Golovkin fight, which ESPN reported had a live gate exceeding $20 million. Guaranteeing $25 million just for appearing, Canelo faced Golovkin again in September 2018, with the rematch bringing in more than $94 million in PPV buys.

From June 2022 to June 2023, Saul’s total earnings reached $110 million across all revenue streams.

DAZN Deal and Lawsuit

In 2018, Alvarez entered into a $365 million agreement with DAZN, ensuring that his next ten fights would be aired on their platform. This deal was among the largest sports contracts ever at the time. Thanks largely to this arrangement and various endorsements, Canelo made $95 million from his income sources between June 2018 and June 2019.

The agreement was designed to be straightforward: DAZN would pay Golden Boy $40 million for each of the ten fights scheduled between 2019 and 2020, with Canelo receiving $35 million per fight.

However, in September 2020, Canelo initiated a breach of contract lawsuit against DAZN, Golden Boy Promotions, and Golden Boy’s CEO, Oscar De La Hoya. His most recent fight prior to this lawsuit occurred in November 2019 against Sergey Kovalev.

The lawsuit sought damages of $280 million, in addition to lost sponsorship and gate revenue. The legal action was triggered after a year of disputes amongst the parties, who at the time of the filing anticipated Canelo not having any fights throughout 2020. Reports indicated that DAZN was dissatisfied with Canelo’s choice of opponents, viewing them as subpar. DAZN allegedly offered Canelo half of his guaranteed $35 million purse to fight Billy Joe Saunders, which he declined. The core of the lawsuit revolves around Canelo’s demand to either receive the $35 million he believes he is entitled to for fighting his chosen opponents with DAZN and Golden Boy or to be released from his contract in order to seek out independent fights. Canelo contended that the contract allowed him to select future opponents with Golden Boy and further claimed that Golden Boy maintained a separate contract granting DAZN the authority to approve or deny potential opponents.