Paul says he would've beaten Canelo: He's 'washed-up'

Jake Paul believes he would've gotten his hand raised against Canelo Álvarez had the two met in the ring this month.

Earlier in 2025, Paul, the YouTube star turned prizefighter, was in talks to face Álvarez, the undisputed super middleweight champion, in a blockbuster fight May 3 in Las Vegas. But the matchup fell apart after Álvarez instead agreed to a multi-fight deal with Riyadh Season. Álvarez went on to defeat William Scull on the same date in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to regain the undisputed 168-pound title.

Paul said Álvarez's performance against Scull gave him confidence that he'd have the upper hand.

"I would've beat Canelo for sure," Paul said Monday on "The Ariel Helwani Show." "Even just watching him against Scull - he's just washed-up, inactive, doesn't throw a lot of punches, not very strong."

Álvarez's unanimous decision victory over Scull was highly uneventful, with the two boxers landing a combined 111 punches over 12 rounds. Álvarez and Scull broke the CompuBox record for fewest punches thrown in a 12-round fight (445 combined).

Paul is scheduled to take on former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in a cruiserweight bout June 28 in Anaheim. His most recent fight was a unanimous decision win over Mike Tyson last November.

The 28-year-old said he thinks he'll square off with Álvarez eventually, even if Álvarez loses to Terence Crawford in September and starts to stumble in his next few fights.

"I would say, from a third-party point of view, we're the two biggest names in the sport. And because of that, it's just gonna be fun and exciting," Paul said of a fight against Álvarez. "I like making history and doing big events."

Paul said he has constantly proven people wrong since becoming a professional boxer five years ago and would do the same against Álvarez.

"When it happens," Paul said of potentially beating boxing's top star, "I'm gonna have the last laugh. I know what I'm capable of. There's a lot more names on the list that I'm going to beat in the next couple of years."