Canelo Alvarez changes course, drops Jake Paul fight to sign big deal with Riyadh Season
Canelo Alvarez reacts before fighting Edgar Berlanga in a super middleweight title bout on Sept. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
Canelo Alvarez has agreed to a four-fight deal with Riyadh Season, with the Mexican superstar leveraging a widely speculated bout with Jake Paul for a much bigger contract.
Turki Alalshikh, the head of Riyadh Season and the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia, announced the deal Thursday on social media.
“Don’t mess with the lion,” Alalshikh said.
Alvarez quickly replied on social media: “Let’s go brother.”
The first fight under Alvarez’s new deal would be in May in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Terence Crawford — the long-reigning welterweight champion — might be his second fight.
“I’m waiting on Canelo in September,” Crawford wrote on X, in reply to Alalshikh, “and going to shock the world in Riyadh Season!”
Ring Magazine, citing a source with knowledge of the details, said a bout against Crawford was planned for September in Las Vegas at the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium.
Alvarez has spent years as the biggest moneymaker in boxing, and the 34-year-old super middleweight champion used the threat of a stunt fight against Paul to leverage a major commitment from the Saudi Arabian government arm that has flooded the sport with money in the past few years.
Alvarez would have been an astronomical favorite to beat Paul, the YouTube star who has turned himself into one of the biggest draws in combat sports while fighting mixed martial artists and 58-year-old Mike Tyson.
Instead, Alvarez appears to be back on track for a meeting this year with Crawford, who will have to move up two weight classes to fight Canelo.
Alvarez last fought in September in Las Vegas, outpointing Edgar Berlanga to improve to 62-2-2. He has 39 knockouts.
___
AP boxing: https://apnews.com/boxing