‘Owned slave’ – Jake Paul takes angry swipe at Canelo Alvarez as he releases first statement since fight collapse
Jake Paul has torn into Canelo Alvarez for ‘ducking him’ after the Mexican superstar pulled the plug on their crossover clash. It was reported last night that Canelo was finalising a deal to square off against YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul on May 3 in Las Vegas. Paul has spoken about his doomed fight with Canelo for the first timeAl Bello/Getty Images for Netflix But in a stunning eleventh-hour U-turn, Canelo walked away from negotiations to sign a lucrative four-fight deal with Riyadh Season. Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh took to social media on Thursday evening to announce the news, writing: “Don’t mess with the lion … 4 fights for Canelo with Riyadh Season … “The Deal is done … A Lion doesn’t lose sleep over opinion of a sheep… Fear the lion not the jungle.” Bruno Surace and Jermall Charlo are now the frontrunners to face the former pound-for-pound king in May while discussions over a September showdown with Terence Crawford have re-ignited. Hardcore boxing fans will be rejoicing at the news but Paul is understandably furious. “Breaking news: Canelo Alvarez ducked me Jake Paul and is now an owned slave with no regard for the pride of the Mexican people who support him on US soil,” he wrote on X. “It’s not surprising when his whole career he has done nothing for the sport of boxing outside the ring. “I’m the new face of boxing. You cannot have the biggest fight of 2025 without my name involved. “When all of your events tank and lose money you will all realize who the king of the sport is. 28 years old. “Biggest fight in boxing history. My own boss. Not owned. 5 years in. Canelo has signed a four-fight deal with Riyadh SeasonGETTY “All of you felines want to see me fail, but god has other plans. “It’s the era of good. The era of the elephant. It’s the era of MVP.” It’s been a whirlwind few days in the boxing world. 48 hours ago, Ring Magazine reported that Canelo-Crawford was off, only for Alalshikh to strike a deal with the former undisputed super middleweight champion and salvage the fight that fans are clambering for. In a video released to social media, Alalshikh declared that Canelo will return to the ring in May in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He is then expected to fight again in September against Crawford in Las Vegas, followed by two Riyadh fights in February 2026 and October 2026. British boxing stars Hamzah Sheeraz and Chris Eubank Jr are reportedly up for consideration as potential Canelo opponents next year, as is Dmitry Bivol, who defeated the 34-year-old in 2022. Follow talkBOXING on social media talkBOXING is now on Twitter and Facebook. Follow us on social media for big breaking boxing news, exclusive interviews and the best bits from our talkBOXING YouTube show. Like our Facebook page HERE Follow us on Twitter HERE Sign up for our WhatsApp channel HERE
Jake Paul has torn into Canelo Alvarez for ‘ducking him’ after the Mexican superstar pulled the plug on their crossover clash.
It was reported last night that Canelo was finalising a deal to square off against YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul on May 3 in Las Vegas.
But in a stunning eleventh-hour U-turn, Canelo walked away from negotiations to sign a lucrative four-fight deal with Riyadh Season.
Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh took to social media on Thursday evening to announce the news, writing: “Don’t mess with the lion … 4 fights for Canelo with Riyadh Season …
“The Deal is done … A Lion doesn’t lose sleep over opinion of a sheep… Fear the lion not the jungle.”
Bruno Surace and Jermall Charlo are now the frontrunners to face the former pound-for-pound king in May while discussions over a September showdown with Terence Crawford have re-ignited.
Hardcore boxing fans will be rejoicing at the news but Paul is understandably furious.
“Breaking news: Canelo Alvarez ducked me Jake Paul and is now an owned slave with no regard for the pride of the Mexican people who support him on US soil,” he wrote on X.
“It’s not surprising when his whole career he has done nothing for the sport of boxing outside the ring.
“I’m the new face of boxing. You cannot have the biggest fight of 2025 without my name involved.
“When all of your events tank and lose money you will all realize who the king of the sport is. 28 years old.
“Biggest fight in boxing history. My own boss. Not owned. 5 years in.
“All of you felines want to see me fail, but god has other plans.
“It’s the era of good. The era of the elephant. It’s the era of MVP.”
It’s been a whirlwind few days in the boxing world.
48 hours ago, Ring Magazine reported that Canelo-Crawford was off, only for Alalshikh to strike a deal with the former undisputed super middleweight champion and salvage the fight that fans are clambering for.
In a video released to social media, Alalshikh declared that Canelo will return to the ring in May in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
He is then expected to fight again in September against Crawford in Las Vegas, followed by two Riyadh fights in February 2026 and October 2026.
British boxing stars Hamzah Sheeraz and Chris Eubank Jr are reportedly up for consideration as potential Canelo opponents next year, as is Dmitry Bivol, who defeated the 34-year-old in 2022.
