Canelo Alvarez not happy DAZN delayed Sergey Kovalev fight for UFC 244 BMF bout
Boxing superstar Canelo Alvarez is not happy that streaming platform DAZN delayed the start to his recent match against Sergey Kovalev in order to wait for the UFC 244 BMF belt bout between Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz to finish first.
DAZN made the controversial decision to delay the Alvarez vs. Kovalev fight in order to wait for the result of Masvidal vs. Diaz. It was a decision that brought on plenty of criticism of DAZN, who was accused of pandering to the UFC despite Alvarez being arguably the most highly-paid and important figure in the world of combat sports right now.
Alvarez himself wasn’t happy with DAZN’s decision to delay the Kovalev fight, which he ended up winning via vicious KO. In a recent conversation with ESPN Deportes, Alvarez admitted he was frustrated that DAZN did that to him and that he expects them to never delay his fights again in the future.
“I will not allow them to do that, at least for my fights. I will talk to them (DAZN),” Alvarez said (h/t BoxingScene.com).
Although DAZN likely had the best interests of combat sports on their mind when they made the controversial decision to delay Alvarez’s fight with Kovalev, it nevertheless sparked mass criticism and debate, especially among those who are boxing diehards and who very surprised that DAZN would actually delay an Alvarez fight for the UFC.
At the same time, there were many crossover fans who were happy that DAZN let them watch the Diaz vs. Masvidal fight in full before starting the Alvarez vs. Kovalev match. It was no doubt a difficult decision for the DAZN brass to delay the matchup, but now that Alvarez has spoken out about his frustrations, it’s unlikely to be that way again.
Do you think Canelo Alvarez’s criticisms of DAZN delaying the Sergey Kovalev bout are correct?