Jake Paul's shot at a massive payday slipped away when Canelo Alvarez signed a new deal earlier this year. The boxing world won't get to see this once-unthinkable clash anytime soon.
Paul and Alvarez got close to making a fight happen. Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said the bout could've brought in over $200 million. He broke it down like this:
"The fight does, on pay-per-view, at $90, the fight does potentially two million buys. Which is $180 million of revenue, just TV revenue. Not closed circuit, not the gate. The gate's another $30 million. You're looking at over $200 million in revenue for that fight. I think that fight generates $200 million if it does two million buys."
Canelo confirmed to Fight Hub TV that talks were moving forward:
"We have an agreement with the promoters to go and sell the fight and everything, but not that close."
But then Canelo signed a four-fight deal with Turki Alalshikh. That move locked up the super middleweight champ's schedule for the foreseeable future.
Paul's been building his boxing profile with smart matchups and viral marketing. Now he'll face Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on June 28 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. It's a decent fight, but it's not the $200 million payday or legitimacy boost he was after.
Canelo's moving on too. He'll defend his super middleweight title against William Scull on May 3. Later in the year, he might face Terence Crawford.
The boxing world will have to wait and see if this dream matchup ever comes together down the line.
