Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn once told me that Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez has “more money than God,” and if that was true when he said it in 2023, then it’s even truer today having grown his business portfolio since then, together with an extraordinary nine-figure payday for taking on Terence Crawford on the 13th of September.
Yes, there is little question that, as one of the faces of combat sport, Canelo has built a gargantuan ecosystem. He has sponsorship deals, vast business interests that span real estate and his own brands, together with his primary income driver — prizefighting.
To date, Canelo has fought some of the biggest names in boxing, including Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Gennadiy Golovkin (x3), and, most recently, Terence Crawford. He has made life-changing money for himself, and his children, for generations to come through boxing alone. But when you add his other income streams, he’s arguably one of the most successful boxers of all time, behind only Mayweather himself.
Canelo Alvarez Net Worth
With more than 41 million people tuning in globally to watch Canelo vs Crawford, the boxing event should be considered a resounding success as it places the show behind only the Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul event, which commanded 60 million households at its peak, with 50 million also tuning in for the fight immediately before — Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano.
Per Sportico, this month’s Netflix event was licensed for commercial distribution to Joe Hand Promotions in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico. And, according to Joe Hand, Canelo vs Crawford is the third-highest commercially-licensed event in the sport’s history — behind Floyd Mayweather’s win over Manny Pacquiao in 2015, and then his victory over Conor McGregor two years later.
This alone perhaps justifies the sizeable salary Canelo received, which boxing financier Turki Alalshikh told GIVE ME SPORT and other media earlier in the month was more than $100 million. Crawford, meanwhile, said he received $10 million.
Canelo’s payday takes his gigantic net worth to almost $800 million, Sportico reports, which includes career earnings from fights and sponsorships.
Canelo’s deals in boxing have been enormous. In October, 2018, he signed a five-year, 11-fight contract with DAZN worth $365 million guaranteed. In February, 2022, he signed a multi-fight deal with Matchroom and DAZN. Then, in mid-2023, Canelo signed a three-fight deal with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions worth “in excess of $100 million.” One of those bouts scored the multi-weight champ a $35 million payday for fighting Jaime Munguia in 2024.
Other individual purses Canelo has received include:
The first Gennadiy Golovkin fight in 2017 = $40 million
The second Gennadiy Golovkin fight = $30 million to $40 million
The Dmitry Bivol bout = up to $20 million guaranteed
The Floyd Mayweather super-fight = $12 million guaranteed
Canelo’s Other Business Interests Also Earn Him a Pretty Penny
Outside the ring, Alvarez has steadily built an empire of ventures that supplement — and future-proof — his fight purses. He’s invested in lifestyle, retail, and energy, with businesses that all carry his name or image.
Among his highest-profile projects is VMC, which stands for Viva Mexico Cabrones, and is a line of organic drinks he launched in Mexico in 2021, which quickly gained traction in Latin America. That same year he added Yaoca, a healthy hydration beverage, to his portfolio, and he has since spoken about wanting both brands to expand internationally.
Alvarez also owns a growing chain of Canelo Energy gas stations and Upper by Canelo convenience stores, which have opened in multiple Mexican states. These tie neatly into his broader real estate holdings, which include properties in Guadalajara and the United States. His real estate earnings earn him $20 million per year, according to previous estimates.
On the endorsement front, he had ties with Hennessy, who famously ran campaigns around his biggest fights. More recently, he’s been associated with Amiri, the Los Angeles fashion label, with Eddy Reynoso sporting branded hats at fight weeks, including the one most recently involving Crawford.
Other deals have included DAZN itself, Everlast, Roger Dubuis watches, and even crypto and NFT initiatives.
Collectively, these ventures may not yet match the hundreds of millions Alvarez makes inside the ring, but they ensure he remains a recognizable, bankable figure even when he’s not fighting. It’s diversification by design — a way of cementing his brand as much as his legacy.
Canelo won’t be done with accumulating wealth once he’s hung up the gloves. “Always I want more and after boxing, too,” he once told GIVE ME SPORT. “Boxing isn’t forever, or for a long time, so I need to take care of other things after boxing.”