Eddie Hearn goes against Canelo Alvarez after backing him for last four years

Canelo Alvarez and Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn have formed a formidable friendship over the last few years, but on Sept. 14, they’ll be going against each other. 

Alvarez has mostly been a promotional and network free agent since separating from Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions in 2020. 

Hearn immediately stepped in to present Alvarez with a pack of opponents and promoted six of the first seven post-Golden Boy Alvarez fights, as the dynamic duo got chummy and even donned matching Dolce & Gabbana silk wear during a lucrative 5-1 run. 

The super middleweight king Alvarez, however, has since stepped across the street to fight under the PBC banner, which he’ll be doing for a third consecutive bout on Mexican Independence Day weekend, this time against the Hearn-promoted Edgar Berlanga.

“My relationship with Canelo is really honest,” Hearn told BoxingScene. “I consider him a friend. He’s one of the greatest fighters of our generation. He’s a pound-for-pound great. He’s a legend. I really understand him in terms of when we do business together. We get on well – that’s why we can always work together and shake hands, because we do good business together. I don’t get offended when another better opportunity comes along for him. He says, ‘Eddie, I’m sorry. I have to take this.’ All things equal, I think he would always choose us. But when there is a better opportunity, he won’t hesitate to choose that one. It’s not a loyalty thing, either. It’s an honesty thing, and ‘I’m going to do the right thing for me.’ When we signed Berlanga, I promised him we would get him the Canelo fight. But I presumed that would be us promoting Canelo and picking Berlanga. We did it the hard way and went and got a deal with PBC for the fight. Yeah, it’s an interesting dynamic. I will be rooting for Edgar Berlanga come September 14 while being respectful to the true great Canelo Alvarez … Edgar will have to rematch Canelo when he beats Canelo on Sept. 14, and we will go from there.”

Hearn has promoted Alvarez with fights against Callum Smith, Avni Yildirim, Billy Joe Saunders, Dmitry Bivol, Gennadiy Golovkin and John Ryder during their recent run. When Alvarez was with Golden Boy, the Mexican star pounded the Hearn-presented Rocky Fielding and Daniel Jacobs as well. 

The only relevant options remaining for Alvarez from the Matchroom stable include up-and-coming 168-pound contender Diego Pacheco and a rematch against Bivol. 

Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia, has also entered the picture to court Alvarez, and if he were to guarantee the nine-figure paydays Alvarez is looking for to fight Terence Crawford and David Benavidez, Hearn would likely reenter the Alvarez picture as the promoter of record. 

“I think Canelo will take any fight if the money is right,” said Hearn. “He has no fear. He definitely does not have a fear of Terence Crawford. I think he is more concerned about the plaudits he will get for his victory. If he wins that fight, it’s like he beat a 154-pounder, and a 147-pounder who just came up. If he loses that fight, it’s like, ‘Oh, he got beat by a 154-pounder.’ With Canelo, he selects fighters on the styles that he likes. I genuinely think that’s why he chose Edgar Berlanga and Jaime Munguia. He likes guys that come forward and fight him. I don’t think he likes facing fighters who move. His body is probably not quite what it was. When Jermell Charlo ran off the back foot, Canelo didn’t like it or enjoy it. He wants someone that comes to fight. He’ll fight anyone. He also, in his head, has a number that he thinks fights are worth. It’s just whether that’s realistic.”

Earlier this summer, Hearn indicated his exclusive streaming partner DAZN was satisfied with its current working relationship with Alvarez by getting the rights to present the fights without footing the bill. 

Alvarez vs. Berlanga will be available for purchase on pay-per-view for $89.99 across Prime Video, DAZN and PPV.com. 

Alvarez has remained friendly with Hearn since he started working with PBC for his fights over the last year against Charlo, Munguia, and now, Berlanga. Alvarez has said Haymon is a “great person” and “great businessman” and thinks “PBC is one of the best” despite splitting from PBC one fight into a three-fight deal in February, only to go back to PBC less than two weeks later to set up the Munguia fight, and now, the bout with Berlanga. 

Haymon, who represents Benavidez, will ultimately need to play his usual role of power broker to get Alalshikh to fund Alvarez’s exorbitant purse demands. 

“I think Canelo sees the potential financial opportunities around the Benavidez fight, and he probably wants to build it and say, ‘I’ll take that fight, but pay for it.’ It’s a dangerous fight,” said Hearn. “Benavidez is now campaigning at 175 pounds. He’s a huge guy, and in the ring without a rehydration clause, he is going to be the bigger guy. I think Canelo knows that’s a tough fight. Whether or not it’s real that he wants $150 million, or he put that out there to get close to $100 million, he wouldn’t hesitate to take that fight. There is no part of him that feels like he wouldn’t win that fight. He understands that rivalry means big money. I think that sometimes in boxing, not ego, but, like, things will be said between teams and people will feel disrespected. When you feel disrespected, sometimes you don’t want to give them the opportunity – or you want to make sure you get paid for that opportunity.” 

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine and more. He’s been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.