Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford salaries, fight purses: How much money is each fighter expected to earn?

One of the biggest fights of the year goes down this Saturday when Saul “Canelo” Alvarez defends his undisputed super middleweight championship against Terence Crawford. Despite both men rating among the elite of the elite in boxing, there appears to be a big pay disparity between the two superstars. 

Alvarez has long been one of boxing’s biggest box office draws. As such, he has been making piles of cash for well over a decade.

Saturday won’t be any different for Alvarez. At the time the bout was announced in May, it was reported that Alvarez’s payout would be somewhere between $100-150 million. UFC CEO Dana White, who is at the forefront of TKO’s promotional efforts for the fight, seemingly confirmed that number during fight week, telling Vegas PBS that Alvarez was “probably” walking away with at least $100 million.

CBS Sports will also have live coverage of the fight with round-by-round scoring and blow-by-blow updates to keep you up to date throughout the night.

Exact payouts are unlikely to be revealed, as regulations that once required those numbers to be made public in Nevada have been changed, as they have been in many other states.

Crawford, however, claimed during a podcast appearance that he took the fight for just $10 million.

“I’m doing it for the opportunity, baby,” Crawford said. “The legacy outweighs the money.”

Should Crawford win, it would be the third time he’d achieved undisputed champion status in his career, and each time in a different weight class. Crawford would be the first male boxer in history to achieve such a feat, which would certainly cement his legacy.

“I’m not sick of people talking about the weight because the more doubters, the bigger the win will be,” Crawford’s head trainer Brian McIntyre said at Tuesday’s grand arrivals. “I think the difference is the IQ. If you look at Canelo, he has been fighting a certain way for a certain amount of years. But if you look at Bud, he changes his style in the midst of a fight. I think the IQ is going to be the factor.”

Then again, Crawford could have simply been downplaying the money he will make for the fight as statements that a fight is about legacy rather than money run counter to what Crawford told CBS Sports ahead of his 2023 fight with Errol Spence Jr.

“It’s all about the money at the end of the day,” Crawford said. “We as fighters, we start by fighting for recognition and fighting to become champion and have belts. Then you become bigger than the belts and start learning the business and what really matters in life. Once you figure that out, you realize that it’s always been about the money. No matter what, it’s always about the money.

“After boxing what would you have to offer, what would you have to show and what would you have to fall back on because you didn’t work a job for 20 years? So, if you’re at the pinnacle of your sport and then you’re going to retire and work at Wal-Mart or a job as a janitor because you don’t have no degrees or anything because you gave your whole life to boxing? Yes, it all boils down to money at the end of the day.”

The undercard features some solid fighters on the rise. Look no further than Callum Walsh, who features in the co-main event against Fernando Vargas Jr. Walsh has been the guy for Dana White and co. for a few years as his fights have aired exclusively on UFC Fight Pass. Now, he can showcase his skillset on a massive platform when he faces Vargas, who holds a 17-0 record. Plus, an interim super middleweight title bout is set for the undercard when Christian Mbilli puts his secondary WBC title on the line against Lester Martinez. The winner could become a mandatory challenger for the main event winner.

Who will win Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford, and which method of victory prop could bring a massive return? Join SportsLine here to see which bets you need to make for the fight, all from the accomplished veteran combat sports analyst who has consistently delivered winners.