For boxing, the last few days have been utterly chaotic. Information-misinformation, claims-counterclaims – you name it, ruled the day. Thankfully, the dust seems to have settled. For the unversed, the script read like this: Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford had ‘almost agreed’ to a fight when news emerged that it had been shelved. Enter ‘The Problem Child.’ So instead of Crawford, Canelo would face the ‘face of influencer boxing,’ reports suggested. But the final curtain had yet to fall on the story.

New reports surfaced. Dismissing the Jake Paul fight, the Mexican superstar instead opted for a four-fight deal with HE Turki Alalshikh. After the Cinco de Mayo fight, Canelo will meet Terence Crawford in Las Vegas. The new development must have relieved scores of fans who had for long been waiting for the dream matchup. But on the other hand, Jake Paul and his team blew a fuse. Following Canelo’s clip, ‘The Problem Child’ released a video slamming the former undisputed champion. Perhaps unbeknownst to him, the move didn’t go down well with the fans. In a feisty riposte, many rolled back to castigate the YouTuber-turned-boxer.

Jake Paul: Canelo doesn’t want this smoke!

“Oh Canelo, you put**,” Jake Paul said. Canelo’s footage, where he mentioned sticking with fights against real fighters, followed. Paul continued, “Time to expose them, so we had a signed contract to fight here. You could see Canelo’s signature and my signature to the right, claiming he’s not fighting YouTubers bullsh*t.”

The Ohioan pointed out the contradiction. Instead of facing tougher competition like David Benavidez, Canelo chose to fight Terence Crawford, a much lighter opponent. “The truth is you can be bought. You’re a money-hungry squirrel chasing your next nut. The truth is these sportswashing shady characters are paying you hundreds of millions of dollars to stop our fight from happening because they couldn’t fathom the fact that they can’t create a bigger fight than me,” said Jake Paul.

Jake Paul called out Canelo Alvarez for turning his back on Al Haymon, who has been instrumental in his career success. Despite Canelo’s insults, Paul’s own boxing matches have drawn bigger audiences, especially through his partnership with Netflix. The rant followed an earlier post, where Paul said, “Breaking news: Canelo Alvarez ducked me, Jake Paul, and is now an owned slave with no regard for the pride of the Mexican people who support him on US soil.”

However, to most fans, it was much ado about nothing. Let’s check what some of them had to say.

Fans: Don’t bite off more than you can chew

Siding with Canelo Alvarez, this fan said, “He respects the sport of boxing too much; he was never going to fight you. You’re upset that he used you to negotiate a better deal with Turki. 😂 Cry about it.” Instead of one big fight, the Mexican icon has four big ones in his hands now. So which way should he tilt?

The next one corrected a factual error in Jake Paul’s commentary. They said, “That “135 lbs. Fighter” (Terence Crawford) hasn’t fought at 135 lbs. in 10 years.” They echoed a familiar sentiment: “Nobody asked for that fight (Jake Paul), and we’re all happy it fell off,” and added, “Canelo vs. Crawford outsells him fighting a YouTuber, because we all knew that if you stepped in with Canelo, you would’ve gotten yourself killed.” There could be a big surprise in store for everyone. Given their immense popularity and following, Canelo-Crawford could prove a historic draw.

Another one questioned Paul’s credibility as a fighter. “Says the guy who lost to Tommy Fury. 🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️.” Tommy Fury himself faces slighting claims of being a mid-level fighter. So for Jake Paul to have lost a fight to Tyson Fury‘s brother and then call out other champions for ducking him sounds delusional to many.

The next one shared similar thoughts. “Honestly, just fight Tommy Fury again at this point. 😭 I think we all know how this fight would go,” they said. Maybe Jake Paul should stick to opponents more on his level, like Tommy Fury, rather than aiming for top-tier fighters like Canelo.

But one hopeful user said, “This gotta be the start to the buildup. Please, Jake, am I dreaming?” There still remains some interest in the Paul-Canelo matchup. Even if the fight seems unlikely now in terms of providing sheer entertainment, it would have been at a different level.

Fans will now be eagerly awaiting Canelo Alvarez’s response.

With Canelo sticking to regular fights, many, quite justifiably, felt that boxing had been saved from unwarranted ridicule. A cruiserweight fight against a YouTuber-turned-boxer who has mostly fought retired/semi-retired UFC champions and boxers seems outrageous to many. But one cannot deny the views; had the fight been finalized, it might have received either.

What about you? Do you also think that calling off Canelo-Jake Paul was good for boxing?