Canelo Alvarez is the star of the show in Las Vegas this weekend, so much so that he is in line to earn 10 times more than his rival in the ring Terence Crawford.
Alvarez is defending his four super-middleweight world title belts against Crawford in Las Vegas on Saturday when the pair meet in the ring at the Allegiant Stadium.
In one of the biggest fights in the past decade, anticipation is at an all-time high.
But the gap between the fighters extends beyond world title belts with Alvarez expected to earn more than £100million from the bout while Crawford is expected to get around £10m.
UFC supremo Dana White, who is involved in the promotion of Alvaraz-Crawford, hinted during the week that a nine-figure payday awaits Alvarez and the fighter has since doubled down on that.
‘Why are you lowering the bag? I’m fighting for more and you’re lowering it,’ Alvarez told one reporter when the rumoured £100m purse was put to him.
Canelo Alvarez (left) is dwarfing the money Terence Crawford (right) is getting from their bout
Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh jumped in to make his own clarification, adding: ‘No, you get the number wrong. The contract between us and Canelo [is] more than that.’
The staggering number is part of Alvarez’s four-year deal with Alalshikh that he signed earlier this year when it was mooted he could face YouTuber-turned-fighter Jake Paul.
But the flip side is that Crawford, who faces the ominous task of trying to prise Alvarez’s titles from him, is taking home a purse that is significantly dwarfed by his opponent.
‘I got $10 million for that fight [with Canelo],’ Crawford recently told the Ring Champs podcast.
‘I’m doing it for the opportunity, baby, the legacy. The legacy outweighs the money.
‘Three-time undisputed, ooo-wee coming soon. And I might go back down 154lbs and do it again.’
Crawford is firmly the underdog on Saturday night but Alvarez has no issue with the favourite tag in front of a crowd that will be heavily rallying for his native Mexico.
Alvarez is defending his four super-middleweight world title belts in Las Vegas on Saturday
‘I feel great. For me, this fight means a lot and I feel great. Ready. I can’t wait for Saturday night,’ he said.
‘I can’t wait for Saturday night and thank everybody coming to support the event.
‘This fight for me is big. It’s one of the biggest fights in my career. For sure it means a lot… this win is going to be in the very top.’
This stands out as one of the most eagerly anticipated fights in recent memory and Crawford is adamant that this can be a contest that goes down in the history books for all the right reasons.
‘I think fights like this help the sport of boxing grow in the sense of having the best fight the best and it ain’t going to do nothing but make the sport better and the best is going to start fighting the best,’ Crawford said.
‘It’s going to be stamped in the history books and the debate is going to be over.’
