Canelo Alvarez won't fight Jake Paul. The Mexican superstar shot down the idea after Paul claimed they had a deal for a May 3 bout.
Paul felt ready to face big names in professional boxing after beating Mike Tyson. He announced he'd fight Canelo for a $150 million purse on May 3. But Canelo quickly shut that down.
Hello guys, don't pay attention to anything this damn YouTuber says. I only fight real fighters... no f***ing around with Canelo! Let's go!
Canelo shared this message in a video on February 8, posted by The Ring on social networks.
Paul fired back, saying, "Here you can see Canelo's signature and mine on the right." He accused Canelo of avoiding him.
The real reason for Canelo's refusal came to light soon after. He signed a massive four-fight deal with Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season. The contract, reportedly worth $400 million, covers 2025-2026.
Canelo's next fight will be against William Scull. He'll try to win back his undisputed 168-pound title and earn about $80 million. Then, he's set to face Terence Crawford in September. That fight will be the first ever between two undisputed champions from different divisions.
Meanwhile, Paul hasn't given up on facing a top boxer. He'll fight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on June 28 at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
The money tells the story. Canelo's new deal averages $100 million per fight. Paul's Netflix-backed offer for their matchup would hardly top $100 million total.
Paul made good money from his last fight, around $40 million plus some pay-per-view income for facing Mike Tyson. But Canelo's earning power is on another level.
Canelo picked the bigger payday and tougher competition. Paul will have to keep looking for that career-defining fight against an active boxing great.
