Canelo Alvarez is on the heart of some main boxing drama, with the tip outcome hopefully a extremely anticipated battle with Terence Crawford.
A superfight between Alvarez (62-2-2) and Crawford (41-0) seems to be again on, after a report emerged Thursday from The Ring Magazine—owned by Riyadh Season head Turki Alalshikh—that the bout was not taking place. Making issues extra complicated, ESPN later reported that Alvarez would as a substitute battle influencer boxer Jake Paul (11-1) in a bout to be streamed on Netflix on Might 3, a report that was seemingly corroborated by The Ring.
Nevertheless, late Thursday night, Alalshikh announced that Alvarez had as a substitute signed a four-fight cope with Riyadh Season, and that Alvarez would battle in Might for that promotion and never be concerned with Paul or Netflix. A part of Alalshikh’s announcement was that the second battle on Alvarez’s contract will see him step into the ring with Crawford.
See Alalshikh’s tweet celebrating the information and Crawford’s response beneath.
Don’t mess with the lion … 4 fights for Canelo with Riyadh Season … The Deal is finished … A Lion doesn’t lose sleep over opinion of a sheep … Worry the lion not the jungle ♂️ pic.twitter.com/OJTaapvPfU
— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) February 7, 2025
I’m ready on Canelo in September and going to shock the world in Riyadh Season!
— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) February 7, 2025
Based on ESPN, the Alvarez vs. Paul battle was “on the 1-yard line” earlier than Alvarez as a substitute inked his cope with Alalshikh. ESPN additionally reported the primary Riyadh Season bout for Alvarez may happen on Might 4, probably in opposition to Jermall Charlo or Bruno Surace. Following that contest, Alvarez would go on to battle Crawford on Sept. 13 in Las Vegas.
Alvarez’s third battle would happen in February 2026 with a Dmitry Bivol rematch in play (ESPN additionally mentions Hamzah Sheeraz and Chris Eubank Jr. as doable opponents), and the ultimate battle of his deal is focused for October 2026.
For now, the Paul battle doesn’t seem like a part of Alalshikh’s plans. Regardless of the stories and some cryptic tweets from Paul, neither he nor Alvarez immediately addressed their rumored matchup in public.
Ought to Alvarez vs. Crawford come to fruition, it could match two of the most effective pound-for-pound boxers on the earth in opposition to each other. Alvarez, the reigning tremendous middleweight champion, would have a notable dimension benefit over Crawford, who has competed primarily at welterweight.
