Jake Paul is still searching for his next opponent in the ring.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer was reportedly on the verge of finalizing a bout with Canelo Alvarez — but the Mexican pugilist instead inked a four-fight deal with Riyadh Season on Thursday night.
“Canelo only fights real fighters,” Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, told ESPN.
The outlet added that Alalshikh threatened to pull a three-fight deal with Alvarez if he went ahead with the Paul fight.
Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions company released a statement Friday ripping Alvarez for the sudden change.
“MVP was deep in negotiations for a blockbuster fight between Jake Paul and Canelo Alvarez on Cinco de Mayo weekend in Las Vegas, a massive event for the Mexican, Puerto Rican and American fans, and it’s disappointing to see how the situation unfolded,” the statement read. “MVP operates with integrity, transparency, and respect for the sport, its athletes, and the fans.
“Unfortunately, not everyone in the boxing world shares those values.”
Now, the 34-year-old Alvarez will throw hands with a yet-to-be-determined opponent in the Saudi Arabian capital in the early hours of May 4 — meaning the fight would be in prime time for the U.S. market, on the same date Alvarez was going to face Paul.
The loss of the fight is not only a hit to Paul’s schedule, but also likely a blow to Netflix, which would have streamed it.
“We remain in active discussions with multiple high-profile opponents and are committed to delivering the biggest fights, the most exciting events, and to working with partners who share our values and our commitment to boxing and its fighters,” MVP’s statement read. “Jake Paul isn’t going anywhere, and neither is MVP. We’ll continue to disrupt boxing, on our terms.”
Paul fought boxing legend Mike Tyson in November in a Netflix-broadcast fight, which had been plagued by technical issues, that was hosted at Dallas Cowboys home, AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The controversial fighter won via eight-round decision that produced an $18.1 million gate and was a viewership smorgasbord for Netflix, with 60 million taking it all in.
Alvarez sounded open to the idea of facing Paul in a fight when he appeared on an episode of the “Full Send Podcast” in September of 2023.
“When I’m done with boxing, maybe I’ll do it, why not?” he said. “I think it’s good because what happened is other people who never watch boxing or they don’t know anything about boxing, they want to watch Jake Paul. Because he brings fans from other world, not boxing fans and that’s good.”
For now, that idea remains on hold.
