Canelo Alvarez and Riyadh Season have signed a four-fight contract, with the Mexican superstar appearing to be using a highly anticipated fight with Jake Paul to secure a much bigger contract.
Turki Alalshikh, the head of Riyadh Season and the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia,  , announced the deal Thursday on social media. “Don’t mess with the lion”, Alalshikh said.
Alvarez quickly , replied on social media: “Let’s go brother”.
The first fight under Alvarez’s new deal would be in May in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Terence Crawford – the long-reigning welterweight champion – might be his second fight.
“I’m waiting on Canelo in September”, Crawford wrote on X, in reply to Alalshikh, “and going to shock the world in Riyadh Season”!
A bout against Crawford was scheduled for September in Las Vegas at the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium, according to a source with knowledge of the details.
In his final fight, Crawford defeated Israil Madrimov in a super welterweight championship fight on August 3 in Los Angeles. The 37-year-old, the consensus best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, defeated Madrimov by unanimous decision to become a four-division champion.
The 34-year-old super middleweight champion used the threat of a stunt fight against Paul to leverage a significant commitment from the Saudi Arabian government arm, which has flooded the sport with money in recent years. Alvarez has spent years as the biggest money maker in boxing.
Alvarez would have been a astronomical favorite to defeat YouTuber Paul, 58, and mixed martial artist Mike Tyson, who has become one of the biggest draws in combat sports.
Alvarez appears to be back on track for a fight with Crawford this year, but they will need to move up two weight classes to face Canelo.
Alvarez defeated Edgar Berlanga to win the previous fight in Las Vegas in September, improving his record to 62-2-2. He has 39 knockouts.
Source: Aljazeera
Leave a Reply