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Canelo Alvarez was slated to meet Jake Paul on May 3 in Las Vegas, with sources telling ESPN that a deal was being finalized and a formal announcement imminent. But in a stunning development, Alvarez changed course and instead completed a four-fight deal with Riyadh Season.
Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, on Thursday evening announced the deal with Alvarez, boxing’s top star, effectively killing the novelty fight with Paul that was expected to land on Netflix. Now, Canelo will fight in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, for the first time.
Alvarez replied to Alalshikh’s announcement on social media: “Let’s go brother.”
Alalshikh told Alvarez that if he proceeded with the planned fight with Paul, his lucrative, previously agreed-upon three-fight deal with Riyadh Season was off the table, sources said. Alvarez expressed that he didn’t want to fight a YouTuber but that he needed a fight in May, according to sources.
Alvarez and Alalshikh quickly closed the deal and added a fourth fight, shocking the boxing world.
“Canelo only fights real fighters,” Alalshikh told ESPN.
The first fight of the deal, sources said, will be staged on Sunday morning, May 4, to accommodate a prime-time U.S. broadcast Saturday night, May 3, on Cinco de Mayo weekend for Alvarez. Two opponents being considered are Jermall Charlo and Bruno Surace, sources said.
Charlo’s twin brother, Jermell, was knocked down in a lopsided decision loss to Alvarez in September 2023. Surace scored a seventh-round KO of former champion Jaime Munguia in December in ESPN’s Upset of the Year.
The May bout will serve as a tuneup for Alvarez’s Sept. 13 megafight with Terence Crawford at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. ESPN previously reported a deal was in place for Alvarez’s 168-pound title defense against Crawford, the undefeated American who will move up two weight classes from 154 pounds.
Crawford, 37, is ESPN’s No. 2 pound-for-pound boxer.
“I’m waiting on Canelo in September and going to shock the world in Riyadh Season” Crawford posted on X in response to Alalshikh’s announcement of Alvarez’s deal.
Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs), the former undisputed welterweight champion, scored a ninth-round TKO of Errol Spence Jr. in July 2023 in a career-best performance. He fought only once at 154 pounds, a title victory over Israil Madrimov in August in a Riyadh Season event in Los Angeles.
Alvarez, 34, is ESPN’s No. 5 pound-for-pound boxer and currently holds the WBA, WBC and IBF super middleweight titles. A four-division champion, he defeated Munguia and Edgar Berlanga in 2024.
With Alvarez’s 2025 schedule mapped out, his 2026 campaign is being planned, too.
The third fight of his deal is slated for February 2026 in Riyadh, and there are options on the table, sources said: a rematch with Dmitry Bivol to avenge one of two career defeats (the other came vs. Floyd Mayweather in 2023); Hamzah Sheeraz, who challenges Carlos Adames for the WBC middleweight title Feb. 22; and Chris Eubank Jr., the middleweight contender who is son of the British star boxer.
The fourth fight of the deal, sources said, is planned for October 2026 in Riyadh. Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) has never competed outside North America.
It appeared he would fight yet again in Las Vegas as he closed in on a deal to meet Paul, an 11-1 boxer who gained fame as a social-media-star-turned-boxer. Paul, 28, is one of boxing’s top attractions despite his novice skill level. His November fight with the 58-year-old Mike Tyson, which Paul won via eight-round decision, peaked at a staggering 64 million concurrent streams on Netflix.
Netflix was slated to stream a second mega event involving Paul, this time against not just a legitimate boxer in his prime but one at the highest level of the sport. The Alvarez-Paul fight was set to be contested at 200 pounds and take place at T-Mobile Arena.
Earlier in the day, Alvarez’s former promoter, Eddie Hearn, said there was a deal in place for Canelo to fight Paul. Paul cryptically posted on X that he is the “A-side in every fight I’ve been in and that’s not changing for this one,” alluding to the fight with Alvarez, the face of boxing.
Alvarez is the unified champion at 168 pounds and is a former 175-pound champion. He has surpassed one million pay-per-view buys several times, including twice during his legendary trilogy with Gennadiy Golovkin.