DAZN to Offer NFTs on Canelo vs Saunders Title Fight

DAZN will auction off hundreds of NFTs ahead of the title fight between Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders on May 8, followed by another auction on May 10. 

NFTs Are Arriving on DAZN Ahead of Canelo vs. Saunders Fight 

The highly-anticipated fight between Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders will be accompanied by a new non-fungible token (NFT) offering spearheaded by DAZN. Canelo will fight in a title match for the WBA, WBC, and WBO belts, with the event broadcast on May 8 via DAZN. 

The Mexican will seek to unify the middleweight division as DAZN is looking to stoke interest in one of the best boxing fights of the year. As a result, fans will be able to bid for various NFT assets that will be uniquely issued to their future owners.

On May 8, at 7 am ET/12:00 pm BST, DAZN will proceed with the auction of a unique gold ‘Tale of the Tape’ for both Canelo and Saunders. Another 50 silver ‘Tale of the Tape’ tokens will be distributed amongst the highest bidders.

Whoever wins the bidding war for the golden token will receive a pair of boxing gloves signed by Canelo or Eddie Hearn. DAZN is introducing a bit of a betting element to the offer, with special NFTs issued to try and guess the round of victory or whether the fight would come down to a judges’ decision. 

Boxing fans can also partake in the special Knockout NFT bidding war for each fighter and get a digitally signed copy of their gloves.

The Auctions to Continue After Fight’s Over 

Following the fight, DAZN will continue with another round of bidding on May 10 with more NFTs to snap up, such as the Winning Moment as well as the Ring Walk NFTs, which could lead to a little more showmanship during the presentation segment next week. 

Anyone interested to participate in the DAZN bidding rounds can do so through DAZNBoxing.io, a newly-created NFT portal that is very likely to be around for every major fight the platform is going to broadcast moving forward.

The NFTs will be available through OpenSea, a specialized marketplace that is selling NFTs across numerous categories, including art, trading cards, collectibles, sports, and others. Presently, ‘ Canelo v. Saunders: Face the Fearless’ features as many as 1,400 items. 

NFTs reportedly hit a bit of a slump between February and early April, with 70% of their average price dropping. Nevertheless, appreciation for the non-fungible token economy is ramping up.  

Digital artist Beeple managed to sell a single piece of digital NFT artwork for $69 million in March, and he predicts that these assets will be around for many years to come. NBA Top Shot is another good example of the sports world capitalizing on the NFT bonanza.