Eddie Hearn has admitted that Canelo Alvarez’s time on DAZN was not a complete success.
Those comments arrived following the Mexican’s decision to move away from DAZN and sign a three-fight deal with the PBC.
Alvarez had signed a 10-fight deal worth $365 million with DAZN in 2018, but that was cut short when the Mexican sued Golden Boy and DAZN.
In came Hearn who worked with Alvarez on a fight-by-fight basis. The news has no doubt shaken up DAZN, who have lost their biggest ‘cash cow’ outside of Anthony Joshua.
Canelo was seen as a key figure in driving up the subscription numbers for DAZN, given his Mexican fan base. The mega fights with Gennady Golovkin and Dmitry Bivol were attempts at doing that.
However, since a rematch with Bivol could not get done, the chances of Alvarez having a mega fight on DAZN diminished.
While Canelo’s departure has left a gaping hole in Hearn’s stable, the Matchroom Boxing CEO did admit that the relationship was not entirely fruitful.
“I am not just saying this, but honestly, DAZN is fine [with losing Alvarez]. It got to a stage where not every Canelo Alvarez fight is a success for DAZN.
“He is a massive name who’s done massive numbers for us. He’s always been a success for Matchroom. But it comes to a point where the broadcaster [says] ‘am I getting value?’ and the fights that are available.
“The answer is ‘not necessarily.’ If we had the Charlo fight or the Benavidez fight, things may be a bit different, but we don’t,” Canelo
Canelo’s departure, therefore, has left a massive budget for the network to put towards another fighter.
And given that Hearn is talking up Edgar Berlanga for a fight with Jaime Munguia, he could be the man to take over Canelo’s mantle.
Regardless of who it may be, Hearn has already targeted a new direction post-Canelo.
“Now, we need to look at that huge pot of money that was there for Canelo fights and now start looking at bringing a string of big fights. 2022 was Matchroom’s year, and 2023, right now, is PBC’s year.
“We are competitors. We want to win. We are rolling up our sleeves in order to give you an unbelievable six months,” Hearn