Canelo Alvarez vs. Avni Yildirim Fight Purse: Here's How Much They Earned

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez dismantled Avni Yildirim Saturday to defend his WBC and WBA super middleweight titles. While the bout lasted only nine minutes, the event was a big night for both boxers in terms of money.

The Saturday fight ended, as expected by most, in favor of Alvarez, who took out Yildirim via a third-round TKO during their title contest at the Hard Rock Stadium in Florida. But while it was indeed a quick bout for the two boxers, both were handsomely paid for the match.

The Athletic's boxing insider Mike Coppinger, citing unnamed sources, tweeted that Alvarez "made eight figures."

Several outlets, including Yard Barker, said Alvarez earned at least $10 million from his win against Yildirim. However, AS reported that he could earn "up to $30 million" but clarified that it is not known yet how much money is guaranteed.

As for Yildirim, Coppinger claimed, citing anonymous sources, that he took home $2.5 million for the fight.

The match caused some head-scratching when it was first announced. Boxing fans and insiders were left wondering why Alvarez was set to fight a relatively unknown boxer, per Sporting News. But it was Yildirim who was most qualified to fight for the titles held by Alvarez.

While still an up-and-coming boxer, Yildirim is the mandatory challenger to Alvarez. The 29-year-old boxer from Turkey started his professional career in 2014. His last fight before Alvarez was against Anthony Dirrell. It saw him coming in strong in the second half of the bout but losing by technical decision after the fight ended on the 10th round, per DAZN.

Meanwhile, before his fight with Yildirim, Alvarez was known for squaring off with the big names of boxing. His Showtime PPV deal saw him fighting renowned boxer Floyd Mayweather in 2013.

After his lawsuit was settled last year, he faced Callum Smith in December. The fight saw him taking home a guaranteed $25 to 25.5 million, Ring TV reported, citing multiple unnamed sources.

Alvarez has been making millions of dollars from his fights. The boxer is a pay-per-view attraction in the American boxing circuit. His fights were previously aired by HBO PPV and Showtime PPV before signing with live and on-demand sports streaming service DAZN.

In 2018, Canelo signed a lucrative deal with DAZN amounting to $365 million. However, he is no longer affiliated with the streaming service after being released last year.