Turki Alalshikh Convinced Canelo to Drop Jake Paul Fight

Turki Alalshikh, the head of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, has revealed that he personally convinced Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) to walk away from a fight with YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul (11-1, 7 KOs).

"This all started in London at The Ring Awards ceremony. That’s when I met Canelo, and we realized we had too many middlemen between us. So, we decided to speak directly.

We agreed on three fights under the Riyadh Season banner, starting with his September showdown against the legendary Terence Crawford. That is the biggest fight in modern boxing—possibly even in history. But Canelo asked us to hold off on announcing it until after his May fight, which he had already planned. He asked if we were okay with it, and we told him: ‘That depends on the opponent and the circumstances. But, brother, pick a worthy challenger, because we’re building something massive.’

Alalshikh admitted that once rumors of a Canelo vs. Jake Paul fight started swirling, he acted quickly to stop it:

"Over the past 48 hours, I knew discussions were progressing, and posters were even being designed. This fight was completely against our plans—we wanted Canelo to have a legitimate opponent in May.

I’ll be honest: for the past two days, I deliberately spread misinformation to change the narrative. I knew a major platform was involved, negotiations were happening, and a venue was being selected. So, I handled it in five minutes. I called Canelo personally and said: ‘Brother, this fight will damage your reputation and ruin everything we’re building.’ He’s too young for fights like this. Save it for when he’s 60.

Canelo immediately told me he didn’t even want the fight—but he needed an opponent for May. And that’s how we sealed the deal," Turki explained.

Following this, Canelo officially signed a four-fight deal with Riyadh Season, ending any possibility of a Jake Paul showdown. Paul later accused Canelo of ducking him, to which the Mexican superstar fired back, saying he only fights real boxers. In response, Paul leaked an alleged signed contract for the fight.