Canelo Alvarez has always insisted he would fight Jake Paul for one simple reason
Canelo Alvarez has always insisted he would fight Jake Paul for one simple reason
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Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed Canelo Alvarez would be open to fighting Jake Paul, providing the price is right. On Monday, fans were left stunned when boxing journalist Julius Julianis reported that both Paul and Alvarez have agreed to go head-to-head in May for a Cinco de Mayo event. Julianis stated the proposed Paul vs. Alvarez fight will be co-promoted by Most Valuable Promotions, Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), and Canelo Promotions.
However, later that day, 'The Problem Child' took to social media to seemingly reveal his exact date and location ahead of his next boxing outing - which is completely different to the initial Alvarez fight reports. He posted: “It’s time. Sat July 5 New York, New York.” As of yet, an opponent is yet to be confirmed. Since then, Hearn himself has weighed-in on the potential bout and has claimed the Mexican sensation has always been open to a clash with the 28-year-old, providing he's paid a lot of money. In an interview with Matchroom Boxing, he said: "Whenever I've spoken to Saul (Canelo) about Jake Paul, he's always gone 'pay me the money and I'll fight him.' Saul is so transparent, that's why I love dealing with Canelo. Zero bulls***... give him the money and he'll fight. That's it!.
"So he looks at Jake Paul and goes 'yeah you want to pay me the money, I'll fight him.' I don't like a lot of things that Jake Paul has done, if he fights Canelo Alvarez, and obviously, the main reason why he's doing it is for a lot of money... I'll watch it! I would love to watch it, and by the way, respect. Because if you (Paul) go in there, you're fighting a pound-for-pound great. I don't know what they're going to do about weight, Jake's a big lump. Maybe Canelo is going to have to give up 10/ 15lbs, it's not going to matter, but I would watch it.".
As well as continuing to give his thoughts on a potential Alvarez vs Paul fight, Hearn also discussed the rumours regarding the Mexican star taking on Terence Crawford inside the squared-circle. Widespread reports have suggested that 'Saul' and 'Bud' will go head-to-head in Las Vegas in September, with Hearn suggesting Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh is eager to make the mouthwatering bout happen.
"Canelo has done everything! And, obviously the Crawford fight. I think he's kind of run out of options. I mean, if Bivol wins on Feb 22, he could fight Bivol for the undisputed light-heavyweight world championship, but that's a really tough fight. Why would you do that when you can fight Jake Paul for double the money? So, good luck to them all,'' Hearn continued. "I know Canelo/Crawford is in talks and it's a passion of His Excellency to make that fight, but I don't know about that Jake Paul fight. I wouldn't be surprised. It's massive money and, on paper, it's a very easy fight for Canelo, so I'm sure he's thinking 'yeah, let's do it.'".
Despite Alvarez's willingness to take on Paul, the 34-year-old said on the Full Send Podcast in 2023 that he would only take on the YouTuber-turned-boxer once he's done with the sport. “When I’m done with boxing, why not? Yeah, maybe," he said. "I think it’s good cause, what happens is other people who never watch boxing, they don’t know anything about boxing, they want to watch Jake Paul because he brings fans from another world.".
