Canelo Alvarez hints his children won't get a penny of £540m earnings - 'Life is not easy'

Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez has firmly told his children that his staggering £222.49million ($300m) fortune is his and his alone. The Mexican boxing legend has become of the highest-earning athletes in history, further enhancing his massive fortune this year by signing a colossal contract with Turki Alalshikh, head of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority (GEA), reportedly worth a whopping £296.5m ($500m) over the course of five fights.

One of those bouts will see him face Terence Crawford in a catchweight undisputed super middleweight championship bout on September 13. It's anticipated that by the end of this deal, Alvarez's career earnings could skyrocket to an astonishing £820m ($1.1bn). However, he has already told his children, Emily Cinnamon Alvarez Beltran, Mia Ener Alvarez Quiroz, Maria Fernanda Alvarez Gomez and Saul Adiel Alvarez Sepulveda, they cannot solely live off his earnings for the rest of their lives.

Celebrity Net Worth claims he has a net worth of £222.49m ($300m). Speaking with Miguel Gurwitz, via 25MedioTiempo, Canelo said: "They do not have a guaranteed easy life. They don't ask me about money, but if they asked me, 'Is it my money?' I would say no, it's not yours.

"You lack nothing, you have the opportunities to do whatever you want, but the money is mine, only mine. I am giving you the foundations so that you can make your own money.

"But the money isn't yours, it's mine. I give you the tools so that you can create your own wealth, your own story, with tools that I did not have."

Sportico reports that Alvarez's career earnings currently stand at a whopping £540m ($730m). By the end of his current deal, he is set to become the second boxer ever to surpass the billion-dollar mark in earnings, following in the footsteps of his one-time adversary Floyd Mayweather.

The Mexican star has channelled his riches into a variety of businesses, aiming to secure his financial future post-retirement. His ventures include an energy drink brand 'Canelo Energy,' a chain of convenience stores named 'Upper,' a fitness application 'I Can' and his own boxing promotion firm 'Canelo Promotions,' among others.

Discussing his foray into business, he told BoxingScene: "We need to have something outside of boxing. There will be a time when you retire and you need to have other business to do and spend your mornings. When you stop boxing, the money from boxing is going to stop, and you still want to spend what you spend right now.

"So you need other businesses to give you the same lifestyle. So that's why you need to [invest in] a business to keep your lifestyle. I come from nothing and I don't want to be in that position again.

"I risk my life every single time [I fight]. Right now I can do my business and keep my family in a good position. That's what I think every time I need to invest in a business."