Canelo Alvarez has snubbed a fight with Jake Paul in favour of a bumper four-bout deal with Riyad Season, including a September showdown with Terence Crawford.
Reports circulated earlier this week that Canelo had agreed to fight the YouTuber-turned-boxer after talks over facing Crawford in Las Vegas fell apart.
Eddie Hearn then claimed that "Canelo vs Paul is done", but the Mexican star appears to have leveraged speculation over facing Paul for 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, posting on X: "Don’t mess with the lion ... a lion doesn’t lose sleep over [the] opinion of a sheep … fear the lion not the jungle.
Alvarez quickly replied on social media: "Let's go brother."
Alvarez’s first fight in the Gulf state is scheduled for May, against a yet-to-be-confirmed opponent, then the rematch with Crawford will take place in September in Las Vegas.
Two further fights in Saudi Arabia will follow next year in February and October.
It leaves Paul without an opponent, though teased an announcement before the Riyadh Season news broke.
He posted on X: “It’s time, Sat July 5th, New York, New York.”
