# Canelo Álvarez vs. Sergey Kovalev

Canelo Álvarez vs. Sergey Kovalev was a professional boxing match contested on November 2, 2019, for the WBO light heavyweight championship. The fight took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada and Álvarez won by 11th-round knockout.

## Background

Álvarez made his debut at light heavyweight and was looking to become a three-weight world champion by challenging WBO titleholder Kovalev, who was defending his title after having fought two months prior on August 24.

## The fight

After a competitive first ten rounds in which Kovalev found success with his jab while Álvarez largely utilized power punches, the latter produced a left hook, straight right combination to stop Kovalev in the eleventh round to become a three division world champion. Kovalev was stopped for just the third time in his career. At the time of the stoppage, Álvarez led 96–94 on two of the judges' scorecards, with the other scorecard even at 95–95. He joined Thomas Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Mike McCallum as the only former light middleweight champions in history to win a title at light heavyweight.

## Aftermath

Immediately after the bout, many fight fans started asking Kovalev on social media about why he allegedly took a dive. The former champion answered via several videos on his Instagram page,:
   "It was impossible for me to win that fight because of all the demands and contract clauses I have signed, and my physical conditioning problems. But financially it was very interesting for me... so, yeah, I accepted the fight I was not supposed to win."
Álvarez responded by calling Kovalev a "bad loser".

## Fight card

Confirmed bouts:
^Note 1 For WBO light heavyweight title
^Note 2 For vacant WBC Silver lightweight title
^Note 3 For WBA female flyweight title
^Note 4 For vacant WBC-NABF welterweight title
^Note 5 Holyfield's professional debut

## Broadcasting

The fight was streamed live on DAZN in the United States and nine other countries, televised on both FTA Azteca 7 in Mexico and Channel One in Russia.
| Country | Broadcaster | Broadcaster | Broadcaster | Broadcaster |
| Country | Free-to-air | Cable/Pay television | PPV | Stream |
| Australia | — | — | Main Event | — |
| Austria | — | — | — | DAZN |
| Brazil | — | — | — | DAZN |
| Brunei | — | — | Astro Box Office | Astro GO |
| Canada | — | — | — | DAZN |
| China | CCTV-5 | CCTV-5 | — | CNTV Ai Bugu |
| Denmark | — | TV3 Sport | — | Viaplay |
| Finland | — | TV3 Sport | — | Viasat Urheilu |
| France | — | beIN Sports | — | beIN Sports Connect |
| Germany | — | — | — | DAZN |
| Indonesia | Mola TV | Mola TV | — | Mola TV On Demand |
| Ireland | — | Sky Sports | — | Sky Go |
| Italy | — | — | — | DAZN |
| Japan | — | — | — | DAZN |
| Kazakhstan | QAZTRK | — | — | QAZTRK |
| Latin America Central:  Costa Rica  Dominican Republic  El Salvador  Guatemala  Honduras  Nicaragua  Panama South:  Argentina  Chile  Colombia  Ecuador  Peru  Uruguay  Venezuela | | Space (PAN and South) | — | Space GO (PAN and South) |
| Mexico | Azteca 7 | Space (PAN and South) | — | Space GO (PAN and South) |
| Mexico | Las Estrellas | TUDN | — | TUDN |
| Malaysia | — | — | Astro Box Office | Astro GO |
| MENA  Algeria  Chad  Comoros  Djibouti  Iran  Iraq  Jordan  Kuwait  Lebanon  Libya  Mauritania  Morocco  Oman  Palestine  Qatar  Saudi Arabia  Somalia  Sudan  Syria  Tunisia  United Arab Emirates  Yemen | — | beIN Sports | — | beIN Sports Connect |
| New Zealand | — | — | Sky Arena | — |
| Norway | — | — | — | Viasport |
| Panama | Telemetro | — | — | Medcom Go |
| Philippines | 5 (delayed) | — | — | ESPN5 (delayed) |
| Philippines | 5 (delayed) | — | Cignal TV | Cignal TV |
| Sky Sports ||
| Poland | — | Polsat Sport | — | IPLA |
| Russia | Channel One | — | — | Channel One |
| Spain | — | — | — | DAZN |
| Sub-Saharan Africa  Angola  Benin  Botswana  Burkina Faso  Burundi  Cameroon  Cape Verde  Central African Republic  Chad  Comoros  Congo  Djibouti  DR Congo  Equatorial Guinea  Eritrea  Eswatini  Ethiopia  Gabon  Gambia  Ghana  Guinea  Guinea-Bissau  Ivory Coast  Kenya  Lesotho  Liberia  Madagascar  Malawi  Mali  Mauritania  Mauritius  Mozambique  Namibia  Niger  Nigeria  Rwanda  Sao Tome and Principe  Senegal  Seychelles  Sierra Leone  Somalia  South Africa  South Sudan  Sudan  Tanzania  Togo  Uganda  Zambia  Zimbabwe | — | SuperSport | — | DStv Go |
| Sweden | — | — | — | Viasport |
| Switzerland | — | — | — | DAZN |
| Taiwan | — | Eleven Sports | — | Eleven Sports |
| Timor-Leste | Mola TV | Mola TV | — | Mola TV On Demand |
| Turkey | DMAX | — | — | DMAX |
| United Kingdom | — | Sky Sports | — | Sky Go |
| United States | — | — | — | DAZN |
| United States | — | — | — | Pluto TV (undercard only) |
| United States | — | — | — | Stadium (undercard only) |

## Fight purses

According to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Álvarez earned an official purse of $35 million and Kovalev a $3 million purse. These figures are the final figures they will earn as Canelo has a subscription deal which means no potential PPV revenue.
Guaranteed base purses
* Canelo Álvarez ($35 million) vs. Sergey Kovalev ($3 million)
* Ryan Garcia ($250,000) vs. Romero Duno ($50,000)
* Bakhram Murtazaliev ($55,000) vs. Jorge Fortea ($20,000)
* Seniesa Estrada ($50,000) vs. Marlen Esparza ($50,000)
* Blair Cobbs ($20,000) vs. Carlos Ortiz ($5,000)
* Meiirim Nursultanov ($12,500) vs. Cristian Olivas ($12,000)