Canelo Alvarez has shelved plans to meet Jake Paul and instead signed a four-fight deal in Saudi Arabia.
The Mexican had been lined up to take on YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul in Las Vegas in May but, despite the deal being close to completion, Alvarez changed tack at the last minute.
Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and the fixer for major fights in Saudi, announced the arrangement with Alvarez late Thursday.
He wrote: “Four fights for Canelo with Riyadh Season, the deal is done.”
Canelo replied: “Let’s go brother.”
Let’s go brother 👊🏻 https://t.co/Wy1PYfSWcY
— Canelo Alvarez (@Canelo) February 7, 2025
The news is a bitter blow for Netflix, who had hoped to build on the success of Paul’s fight with former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson with a bout against Alvarez.
Paul beat Tyson over eight rounds and, although the fight itself was a disappointment, it was a commercial success for Netflix with over 64 million concurrent streams.
The first fight of Alvarez’s Saudi deal is slated for May 4, according to ESPN, and will see him take on either Jermall Charlo or Bruno Surace.
The WBA, WBC and IBF super middleweight champion will then meet Terence Crawford in Las Vegas on September 13.
Paul’s plans have been thrown into disarray and it is not known when, or where, or against whom, his next fight will come.
When there is something to announce, we will announce it. No outside promoter has any accurate insight on our discussions being concluded or not with any Jake Paul opponent (multiple names in discussion).
— BAVAFA Sports (@BAVAFASports) February 6, 2025
