Canelo Insists Lawsuit Was Never About Money: ‘What I Want Is To Fight’

Saul ‘Canelo Alvarez has insisted his $280 million lawsuit against Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar De La Hoya and DAZN was never about money.

The Mexican superstar who in 2018 signed an exclusive deal with streaming service DAZN worth $365 million. Canelo was expected to compete in 11 fights over a five-year period as part of the deal.

Since then Canelo has took part in three fights which were streamed on DAZN. He fought against Rocky Fielding and Daniel Jacobs before taking on light-heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev in November of 2019.

A number of factors have meant Alvarez has not competed since. Both sides argued over how the pound-for-pound #1 would be compensated for his fights amid a global pandemic. With no sign of a positive conclusion to the negotiations Canelo filed a lawsuit which alleged a breach of contract among other items.

On Friday, both sides confirmed ‘Canelo’ is now a free agent with no ties to any network or promotional outlet. The 30-year-old is now intent on competing before the end of 2020 with December 19 penciled in as a potential date.

“I can’t talk about a lot of the details [with the lawsuit], but what worried me the most was the delay between fights. What I want is to fight, to continue making history. I had to do all of this [with the lawsuit] and I hope that the boxers who come after me will realize that our rights as fighters have to be respected,” Canelo told TV Azteca.

“For me, the important thing was that I was a free agent and not the money. This is one of the most important periods of my career. Eddy Reynoso and I will be the co-promoters of my fights. What I want is to make good fights, which is what people want to see.

“There are great possibilities that I will fight before the end of 2020, I am eager and enthusiastic to do a fight. On December 19? It matters to fight before Christmas. I’m looking forward to trying new scenarios. The best stage of my career is coming.” (Transcribed by Boxing Scene)

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