(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Unified middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez and Golden Boy Promotions signed a historic five-year partnership with the global sports streaming leader DAZN.

Jason Leach

A historic announcement that will change the landscape of boxing was made on Wednesday as WBC and WBA middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez (50-1-2, 34 KOs) signed an 11 fight deal with the global sports streaming leader DAZN. The deal will pay Alvarez a minimum of $365 million.

As part of the partnership, Alvarez promoter Golden Boy Promotions will put on up to 10 high caliber fight nights per year that will stream live on DAZN beginning in early 2019.

Alvarez was in need of a new platform to showcase his fight as HBO, who has televised Alvarez fights for the last several years. will no longer broadcast fights at the conclusion of 2018.

Now fans can watch Alvarez and other fights promoted by Golden Boy Promotions for a low monthly subscription cost.

The 28-year-old Alvarez is coming off the biggest win of his career when he defeated Gennady Golovkin by majority decision to become middleweight champion in September is excited about his groundbreaking deal. Talking to Dan Rafael of ESPN, Alvarez said:

“I’ve always liked a challenge, and this is yet another challenger in my career. “Being part of this historic deal will require me to prepare myself even more and offer fans even better performances. At the same time, I am 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.”

Golden Boy Promotions Chairman and CEO Oscar De La Hoya is equally excited about this opportunity which gives fans access to fights at an affordable price.

“This is easily one of the best days in the growing history of Golden Boy Promotions. We are committed to making this sport as accessible as possible and at an affordable price for all the fans. My dream has been to make boxing a sport for all. DAZN has the perfect platform to make this dream come true, 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.”

With the signing of Alvarez, DAZN now has deals with arguably the two biggest names in boxing in Alvarez and IBF, WBA, and WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.

Not bad for a company that only burst onto the scene just two years ago in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Japan before launching in Canada in 2017, and the United States last month.

The first fight of the 11 fight deal with Alvarez will take place on Dec. 15. Alvarez will make his Madison Square Garden debut as he moves up in weight to challenge Rocky Fielding (27-1, 15 KOs) for the WBA super middleweight championship.

Jason's first love was football while growing up in northern New Jersey. For the past three years, he has covered the New York Giants, as well as several boxing events along the East Coast.