Gennady Golovkin Signs Six-Fight Deal With DAZN, Plans to Debut in June
Gennady Golovkin and DAZN have finally agreed to a deal, group executive chairman John Skipper announced on Friday.
According to Skipper, Golovkin signed a six-fight deal with DAZN that will pay the former middleweight champion eight figures per fight. Golovkin will make his DAZN debut in June and compete twice a year under the three-year deal.
“DAZN has quickly become the new home of boxing by making the biggest events easily available to the fans,” Golovkin said in a release. “When deciding on where I wanted to continue my career, DAZN’s global vision perfectly matched my goals – not just for my career but the opportunity to showcase talented Eastern European fighters to the world. Thank you to my fans for all of the loyal support and I look forward to you joining me on DAZN.”
Golovkin's deal signals an end to a courting process that started in October after HBO announced it was terminating its boxing programming. PBC and ESPN pursued Golovkin before withdrawing from the process. DAZN reportedly drew Golovkin in with the chance to fight Canelo Alvarez—who signed a ten-fight, $350 million deal with DAZN in October—a third time in September. Golovkin, 36, will first have to defeat Daniel Jacobs on May 4.
Golovkin (38–1–1, 34 knockouts) first met Canelo in Sept. 2017 in a fight that ended in a controversial draw. Canelo prevailed via majority decision in the rematch, surviving a late onslaught from Golovkin.
"Gennady Golovkin is a generational talent with international appeal,” Skipper said. “We’re confident he will bring his passionate fans to the platform as we produce tentpole events with his team over the next several years.”
According to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix, Golovkin's deal with DAZN took longer than anticipated due to his focus on growing his own promotional company, GGG Promotions. The company will present two cards per year on DAZN beginning in 2020 as a part of the deal.
Further details about the partnership will be shared during a news conference on Monday in Los Angeles.
