Jake Paul Has Last Laugh as Canelo Alvarez Receives Notice From Female Boxing Champion

Canelo Alvarez’s decision to decline a potential fight with Jake Paul has made a lot of boxing fans happy. The fact that he chose to fight Terence Crawford at the eleventh hour instead of entertaining a Jake Paul fight has brought a lot of relief to boxing purists and it has left Paul fuming at what he considered a betrayal from the Mexican champion.

There’s no denying that such a fight would have been a major cash cow for everyone involved, despite the questions it raised about the integrity of boxing. While it may have been more spectacle than sport, the revenue generated by such an event would have been massive. As the fight was all but confirmed when Canelo decided to pull out, female boxing champion Amanda Serrano added her voice to the conversation. She decided to stand up for her promoter Jake Paul.

Loyalty above all for Amanda Serrano

After the fight was officially called off, veteran promoter Lou Di Bella took to X to express his relief, celebrating the fact that the spectacle of Jake Paul vs. Canelo Alvarez was no longer a possibility. Di Bella’s post read: “No question that Canelo vs Jake Paul not happening is good for what VERY little is left of the integrity of #boxing. The sham of that travesty being debated by casuals and written about by know-nothing, editor-assigned, rent-a-boxing -writers would have been unbearable. For that I thank @Turki_alalshikh.”

The post quickly gained traction. And one of the replies came from none other than the ‘Real Deal’. The unified featherweight champion threw her weight behind Paul while commenting, “When I saw the news of Jake and Canelo fighting I was not surprised. Jake makes the impossible happen. He changed my life. Made women’s boxing a priority. Gave me and Katie our biggest paydays. I’m with @jakepauland he’s with all of us.”

Serrano’s comment came with a clear reference to the November 2024 fight night where Jake Paul faced Mike Tyson in the main event. Meanwhile, Serrano and Katie Taylor fought in a rematch for the undisputed Super Lightweight title in the co-main event. Though the 47-3 boxer lost the fight, she walked away with not just one of the biggest paydays of her career, but also the biggest for any female boxer in history. And for Serrano, a future Hall of Famer, it was Jake Paul who played a pivotal role in making it all happen. Without Paul, it might not have been possible.

However, it seems like His Excellency Turki Alalshikh doesn’t share the same sentiment as hers.

Canelo Alvarez’s new focus becomes the source of Jake Paul’s new frustration

In an exclusive interview with ESPN, Mike Coppinger asked Turki Alalshikh if Canelo viewed the potential fight with Jake Paul as “beneath” him. To which Alalshikh stated that Canelo, now 34, should focus on high-stakes, legacy-defining fights, such as one against Terence Crawford. He moreover added that this fight does little for his career especially considering his age and experience. “Because you know, he’s now in the mid of 30s,” while adding, “We don’t want to waste time.”

Jake Paul, of course, wasn’t happy with the cancelation. In an explosive online rant, Paul labeled Canelo as “money-hungry” and criticized him for avoiding real competition, such as David Benavidez, while choosing to fight Bud Crawford. To which Alalshikh mocked the idea of a Canelo-Paul fight, quipping that maybe Canelo could take on Jake when he turns 60. He even suggested Paul fight MrBeast instead while adding that maybe Disney could potentially sanction their bout.

With the door closing on the Canelo matchup, Jake Paul is now left to find his next big opponent. Canelo’s decision to focus on high-profile matches for legacy is commendable. But will fans continue to embrace spectacle fights if they bring in big money? Do you think Canelo made the right decision by focusing on boxers like Terence Crawford over Jake Paul?