Showtime President Says Canelo Alvarez Turned Down ‘Significantly More Lucrative’ Deal to Fight Dmitry Bivol

Pound-for-pound superstar Canelo Alvarez will take a trip to the 175 lbs division and face WBA champion Dmitry Bivol on May 7, after a successful stint of becoming the undisputed champion at 168 lbs. Although Alvarez could have gone into other weight classes, he specifically chose to shift to the light heavyweight unit.

Alvarez reportedly earned various offers for his next appearance. PBC had offered him a fight against WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo for a whopping $45 million. Meanwhile, Eddie Hearn had offered him a two-fight deal of facing Bivol and then Gennady Golovkin, which the Mexican star has accepted. He can bag $80 million from Hearn’s offer at least.

That said, Showtime chief Stephen Espinoza claimed, they had offered Canelo Alvarez a much better deal, which counted up to $100 million.

In a chat with Fight HUB TV, Espinoza said, “Yeah, it was significantly more lucrative than what DAZN had on the table. You know at least my understanding, what I was told.”

“We were in discussion for another Showtime PPV.”

Following a spit-up with Golden Boy Promotions, Alvarez has been a free agent for more than a year now. He has worked with Matchroom Promotions and PBC. Now, he is back to join forces with Matchroom again. That said, we can expect him to work with Showtime, PBC, or other promotions somewhere down the line.

Read More: Veteran Trainer Says Oscar De La Hoya Beat Floyd Mayweather

31-year-old Alvarez is seemingly aiming at becoming an undisputed champion at 175 lbs. Besides, he can also move to the cruiserweight category, to become a five-weight world champion. All these factors line up an interesting road for him ahead.

Canelo Alvarez vs Dmitry Bivol is just a beginning

Alvarez’s two-fight deal with Matchroom depends on a lot of factors and can fall off from the brink of happening. On bagging a win over Bivol, Alvarez shall wait to see his opponent Gennady Golovkin topple Ryota Murata in a 160 lbs unification fight.

GGG and Alvarez shall win their next showdowns to lock horns in a trilogy blockbuster. If either side loses, Canelo vs GGG 3 shall be ruled out. In that case, 175 lbs and 200 lbs divisions will continue to offer lucrative options for Alvarez. No doubt, the Mexican superstars currently sit in an exceptional position.

Watch This Story: Top 5 Best Selling PPV Fights of Floyd Mayweather’s Boxing Career

Do you think Canelo Alvarez can beat Dmitry Bivol?