Jake Paul’s promotional company, Most Valuable Promotions, has released a statement confirming Paul was in talks to fight Canelo Alvarez in May, following Turki Alalshikh’s announcement Thursday of a four-fight deal between Alvarez and Riyadh Season.
“MVP was deep in negotiations for a blockbuster fight between Jake Paul and Canelo Alvarez on Cinco de Mayo weekend in Las Vegas, a massive event for the Mexican, Puerto Rican and American fans, and it’s disappointing to see how the situation unfolded,” the statement said. “MVP operates with integrity, transparency, and respect for the sport, its athletes, and the fans. Unfortunately, not everyone in the boxing world shares those values.
“This situation is a reminder not to believe everything you read, especially when the current media environment is often controlled by those with hidden agendas, including promoters who have reporters on their payroll … Jake Paul isn’t going anywhere, and neither is MVP. We’ll continue to disrupt boxing, on our terms.”
Paul last fought in November when he took on boxing Hall of Famer Mike Tyson in a professionally sanctioned bout at AT&T Stadium, winning by unanimous decision. Tyson was 58 years old on fight night and hadn’t fought since an unscored exhibition bout against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020.
Alvarez’s four-fight deal with Riyadh Season includes a May fight in Riyadh, a September fight and two more bouts in 2026, according to Alalshikh. The bout in September is planned to be against WBA junior middleweight champion Terence Crawford, according to multiple reports.
Who could Jake Paul fight next?
PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants Press Conference at the The Anthem in Washington D.C., Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (Cooper Neill / PFL)
Most Valuable Promotions will continue to seek out big name opponents for Paul after talks with Alvarez seemingly broke down.
“We remain in active discussions with multiple high-profile opponents and are committed to delivering the biggest fights, the most exciting events, and to working with partners who share our values and our commitment to boxing and its fighters,” the statement said.
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KSI, content creator and CEO of Misfits Boxing, took to Instagram after the Alvarez announcement to seemingly call out Paul.
“Now what buddy?” he posted on his Instagram story, followed by, “Keep running from me bro.”
KSI and Paul began their boxing careers on the same card, which saw KSI headline in an amateur fight against Logan Paul, while Jake took on KSI’s younger brother Deji in the co-main event. Since then Paul has built his professional boxing record to 11-1, while KSI launched his promotional company Misfits Boxing, which puts on amateur fights, often between popular content creators.
KSI is set to take on Dillon Danis in the main event of a Misfits Boxing card on March 29 in Manchester.
Harrison Campbell covers boxing for The Tennessean and high school sports for The Daily Herald. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @hccamp.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Jake Paul vs Canelo Alvarez fight won’t happen. Here’s why
