Report: Canelo ditches Paul, will face Crawford as part of 4-fight deal
Canelo Álvarez won't be fighting Jake Paul after all.
Hours after Álvarez reportedly agreed to fight Paul in May, the reigning super middleweight champion reversed course and agreed to a four-fight deal with Turki Alalshikh that includes a title bout with Terence Crawford in September, sources told ESPN's Mike Coppinger.
Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, and Álvarez both appeared to confirm the agreement in a pair of late-night tweets.
"Canelo fights only real fighters," Alalshikh told ESPN, according to Coppinger, seemingly taking a shot at Paul's boxing credentials.
Álvarez will face Crawford in Las Vegas on Sept. 13 as originally scheduled, with Canelo's WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight belts on the line, Coppinger reports. Before that, he'll fight in Riyadh on May 4 - on Cinco de Mayo weekend - against a to-be-determined opponent; names being considered include Jermall Charlo and Bruno Surace, according to Coppinger.
The third and fourth fights on the contract will take place in February 2026 and October 2026 respectively, per Coppinger. A Dmitry Bivol rematch is being considered for the February bout.
Álvarez and Paul, the YouTube star turned boxer who's long targeted the Mexican icon, were reportedly closing in on a deal for a cruiserweight fight at T-Mobile Arena on May 3. The reported agreement came less than 24 hours after news that Canelo-Crawford had supposedly been called off.
Álvarez sports a 62-2-2 professional record with 39 knockouts. Arguably the face of boxing, he's won titles in four weight classes during his decorated career and has won 11 straight bouts at 168 pounds. His only loss since 2013 was to Bivol in 2022 after he moved up a weight class.
Crawford, 37, will need to move up two weight classes to face Álvarez. "Bud," the WBO's interim junior middleweight titleholder, owns a 41-0 record with 31 knockouts. His most recent fight was a unanimous decision victory over Israil Madrimov this past August.
Paul, 28, owns an 11-1 professional record with seven knockouts. "The Problem Child" has become one of boxing's most visible faces since beginning his career in 2020, and he started his own boxing promotion company, Most Valuable Promotions, in 2021. He last fought in November when he beat former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson unanimously after eight rounds.