Canelo Alvarez drops Jake Paul fight to sign Saudi Arabia deal

Mexican boxing superstar Canelo Álvarez has reportedly reached a four-fight agreement with Riyadh Season. It is speculated that Álvarez may have leveraged the highly publicized potential bout with Jake Paul to secure a more lucrative contract.

Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority and head of Riyadh Season, announced the agreement on social media on Thursday. "Don't mess with the lion," Alalshikh stated. Álvarez quickly responded on social media, saying, "Let's go, my brother."

Under the new agreement, Álvarez's first fight is scheduled for May in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, while longtime welterweight champion Terence Crawford is potentially lined up as his second opponent. Crawford replied to Alalshikh on X, stating: "I’ll be waiting in Riyadh in September for Canelo to shock the world at Riyadh Season!"

According to *The Ring* magazine, citing sources, the Crawford fight is tentatively planned for September at Allegiant Stadium, home of the Raiders, in Las Vegas. Crawford defeated Israil Madrimov on August 3 in Los Angeles to win the super welterweight title. The 37-year-old boxing's recognized P4P king defeated Madrimov by TKO to become a four-division champion.

Álvarez has been one of boxing's highest-earning fighters for years. The 34-year-old super middleweight champion leveraged the threat of a showcase fight against Paul to extract a lucrative commitment from the Saudi Arabian government entity, which has invested heavily in the sport over the past few years. Álvarez would have been a strong favorite to defeat Paul, the YouTube star who has established himself as one of the most compelling figures in combat sports through bouts against MMA fighters.

Instead, Álvarez appears to be back on track to meet Crawford this year, who would have to move up two weight divisions to face Canelo. Álvarez last fought in September in Las Vegas, where he defeated Edgar Berlanga, improving his record to 62-2-2 with 39 knockouts.

Former UFC champion Conor McGregor stated in a social media post in December that he had a preliminary agreement with Paul for an exhibition boxing match.