Canelo Alvarez is at the center of some major boxing drama, with the end result hopefully a highly anticipated fight with Terence Crawford.
A superfight between Alvarez (62-2-2) and Crawford (41-0) appears to be back on, after a report emerged Thursday from The Ring Magazine—owned by Riyadh Season head Turki Alalshikh—that the bout was no longer happening. Making matters more confusing, ESPN later reported that Alvarez would instead fight influencer boxer Jake Paul (11-1) in a bout to be streamed on Netflix on May 3, a report that was seemingly corroborated by The Ring.
However, late Thursday evening, Alalshikh announced that Alvarez had instead signed a four-fight deal with Riyadh Season, and that Alvarez would fight in May for that promotion and not be involved with Paul or Netflix. Part of Alalshikh’s announcement was that the second fight on Alvarez’s contract will see him step into the ring with Crawford.
See Alalshikh’s tweet celebrating the news and Crawford’s response below.
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 ♂️ pic.twitter.com/OJTaapvPfU
— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) February 7, 2025
I’m waiting on Canelo in September and going to shock the world in Riyadh Season!
— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) February 7, 2025
According to ESPN, the Alvarez vs. Paul fight was “at the 1-yard line” before Alvarez instead inked his deal with Alalshikh. ESPN also reported the first Riyadh Season bout for Alvarez could take place on May 4, possibly against Jermall Charlo or Bruno Surace. Following that contest, Alvarez would go on to fight Crawford on Sept. 13 in Las Vegas.
Alvarez’s third fight would take place in February 2026 with a Dmitry Bivol rematch in play (ESPN also mentions Hamzah Sheeraz and Chris Eubank Jr. as possible opponents), and the final fight of his deal is targeted for October 2026.
For now, the Paul fight does not appear to be part of Alalshikh’s plans. Despite the reports and a few cryptic tweets from Paul, neither he nor Alvarez directly addressed their rumored matchup in public.
Should Alvarez vs. Crawford come to fruition, it would match two of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world against one another. Alvarez, the reigning super middleweight champion, would have a notable size advantage over Crawford, who has competed primarily at welterweight.
