Canelo taking huge hit for ring return

Multi-division world champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez will take a significant pay cut when he returns to the ring on Sept 14 in Las Vegas.

Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KO), the current WBO light heavyweight titleholder who previously owned the WBC middleweight and WBA super middleweight crowns, signed an 11-fight deal worth $365 million with streaming service DAZN in 2018. However, because the September fight will take place behind closed doors, there won't be any revenue from a live crowd.

In his last outing, eight months ago, the 29-year-old Mexican brawler knocked out Russia's Sergey Kovalev to capture the WBO light heavyweight title. That fight generated a live gate of $8.17 million from 10,000 tickets sold at the MGM Arena in Las Vegas.

Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez confirmed this week that a pair of Brits－John Ryder (28-5, 16 KOs) and WBA super middleweight champ Callum Smith (27-0, 19 KOs)－top the list of potential opponents for the September bout.

The opponent will ultimately depend on the finances, since Alvarez will only be paid a fraction of his usual $25 million guarantee. Top contenders David Lemieux (Canada) and Sergiy Derevyanchenko (Russia) have already made it clear they are not willing to fight for reduced purses.

"If we get an opponent in the United States we won't have to deal with any visa restrictions that have been imposed by the government. It is more difficult now because of the restrictions. The borders are not all open, so it isn't easy to bring fighters here," said Gomez.

"It all depends on the negotiations. We are not living in the world that we lived in last year. Canelo will be taking a significant pay cut. It depends on the negotiations. Anybody willing to come to the table and be reasonable, he will fight. We are not discarding any of the top guys."

Meanwhile, the English pig farmer who in March claimed he was offered $30,000 to lie about heavyweight champion Tyson Fury's failed drug test has dropped his allegations.

Martin Carefoot, 70, told The Sunday Times he is no longer cooperating with an investigation into Fury's positive test for nandrolone in February 2015.

Fury and his cousin Hughie both tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug following a urine test by UK Anti-Doping (UKAD). Both boxers denied allegations of doping.

Fury then engaged in a lengthy legal battle with UKAD, claiming that his positive test was a direct result of eating uncastrated wild boar meat. Carefoot, who submitted two signed statements that he had supplied the meat, supported that explanation.

The legal battle came to a close when Fury and UKAD reached an agreement on a retroactive twoyear ban.

A UKAD investigation was launched in March when Carefoot claimed he had been bribed to provide false statements to help clear Fury and his cousin. The farmer said a Fury team member approached him with the bribe, and he was angry because nobody had paid him the promised funds.

"I feel fed up with the lies and deceit. The public needs to know the truth. I'm happy the public knows what all this is about. I feel cheated and used," Carefoot said at the time.

Now he's changed his tune.

"I've had nothing but problems right from the beginning of this, and I don't want to get involved," he told the Times this week, but declined to elaborate on his reasons for withdrawing his claims.