Boxer Canelo Alvarez signs $365 million deal with streaming service DAZN

In his new, $365 million deal with the streaming service DAZN, middleweight boxing champion Canelo Alvarez is betting on a new frontier.

The big unknown is whether a sufficient number of boxing fans will subscribe to warrant what equates to a $33 million license fee per fight. The number of DAZN subscribers is not publicly known.

Alvarez, fresh off a majority decision over the previously unbeaten Gennady Golovkin in a pay-per-view extravaganza in Las Vegas last month, formally announced his association with DAZN on Wednesday at a news conference in New York. He is scheduled to fight World Boxing Association secondary super-middleweight champion Rocky Fielding at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 15, launching an 11-fight deal to be carried by DAZN through 2023.

John Skipper, who formerly led ESPN, is executive chairman of DAZN. Company officials have said they intend to expand their operation by pursuing rights deals with major sports.

“By bringing Canelo’s fights to DAZN, we will turn his pay-per-view success into a growth engine for subscribers - a truly transformational moment for our business and the entire industry,” Skipper said in a statement.

Later, in an interview, Skipper said the company was able to convince Alvarez and promoter Oscar De La Hoya that “the future of boxing is ... in affordable subscriptions, so more fans can see the big fights that matter.” He added: “We also made them a financial proposition that allowed them to do that.”

Landing Alvarez, who has a record of 50-1-2 with 34 knockouts, gives DAZN the most popular boxer in the United States and Mexico - and one who, at 28, is positioned for a slew of quality middleweight bouts, including a potential trilogy meeting with Golovkin.

Alvarez previously fought under a deal with HBO, but the premium cable network recently announced it would no longer carry pay-per-view boxing. Showtime also bid for Alvarez, according to industry sources.

HBO charged subscribers $89.95 for the Alvarez-Golovkin fight last month, which drew ?1.1 million buys. DAZN is currently available for a $9.99 monthly subscription fee, though Skipper said he couldn’t promise that the price won’t soon be raised. The service, which is also available in Canada, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan, requires a smart television to connect to DAZN seamlessly. Otherwise, the action can be viewed over a laptop connection or on mobile devices.

“We’re convinced the economics can be transferred to a subscription,” Skipper said, “that the person who was willing to pay $85 for one fight will be thrilled to pay that money to get many months of a subscription that will provide fights every week.”

He added: “Canelo has financial security and he’s never done anything except take on all comers, so his interest aligns with ours to make great fights and grow the sport.”

Alvarez, in a statement, said he was “humbled to be selected to lead this new vision for the sport of boxing, which will without a doubt be for the benefit of the fans.”

De La Hoya said the deal underlines that “we are committed to making this sport as accessible as possible and at an affordable price for all the fans.”

“DAZN has the perfect platform to make this dream come true,” he added, “and with the biggest star in the sport at the helm of this journey, I have no doubts that we will succeed in unimaginable ways.”

Whether Alvarez’s move to streaming is a harbinger for boxing as a business is debatable.