The buzz around the potential showdown between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford had been building for months. Fans eagerly anticipated this historic clash, set to take place in September in Las Vegas before the recent cancelation. Among those excited for the fight was Ray Jackson, a boxing fan, who crossed a line that Terence Crawford couldn’t ignore. What started as a simple comment escalated into a public back-and-forth that caught the attention of boxing fans everywhere.

It all began yesterday when Teofimo Lopez decided to share the details of his past fight purses. And Terence Crawford responded to the post making a snide remark at Lopez’s past earnings. Sounds typical, right? Not anymore. Ray Jackson, in an unexpected move, decided to jump into the conversation. He mocked Crawford, saying, “Talk yo sh*t Crawford but I still got Canelo knocking your a** out 🫡.” And you know what? It wasn’t the first time Ray had disrespected Crawford online, but this time, it was different.

Do not mess with Terence Crawford

You see, Ray Jackson is someone who is known for being extremely critical of Bud Crawford. And the reason that the Garland, Texas resident was excited about the Canelo-Crawford fight was because Jackson had predicted on numerous occasions that Canelo would knock out Crawford if the two were ever to fight. However, this time around, when the remark from Jackson arrived, Terence Crawford decided to deal with the provocateur himself. So what exactly happened?

Crawford had stayed silent for several days, but the recent comments from Jackson crossed the line and Crawford decided to track down the fan and pay him a much-needed visit. The WBA Super Welterweight Champion took to X and posted, “Out here in Texas! I guess I’ll go stop by Garland and go see my son @RayJack97010720 you know daddy still loves you.” Ray, however, chose not to meet Crawford, citing work commitments. “😂😂😂😂 gone on mane I ain’t got time to be f**king wit you today, you know I’m on this dusty a* forklift 💀,” wrote Jackson, trying his best to avoid an angry Terence Crawford.

However, Bud wasn’t going to give up so easily. He responded, “Tell them you gotta take off early because yo dads in town.” This sent the back-and-forth into overdrive, with Ray sarcastically replying, “😂😂😂 Ight lemme go ask my supervisor real quick.” It seems despite traveling a great distance to confront an online critic, the visit was not as fruitful as Bud expected it would be. Fortunately for Ray Jackson, the confrontation was confined to X.

Despite the back-and-forth, the highly anticipated fight between Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez seems to be off the table, at least for now. It seems all these tussles happened for no good reason. According to Ring Magazine, “Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford fight is now off.” While the reasons behind the cancelation are still unclear, the boxing world is left wondering: If it’s not Crawford, who will Canelo face next?

Canelo Alvarez eyes $100 million payday as Jake Paul fight talks gain momentum

New rumors suggest that Canelo might face Jake Paul in May instead. While this fight doesn’t add much to Canelo’s legacy, it makes perfect financial sense. Why? To answer that the Matchroom head honcho Eddie Hearn sat in an interview with IFL TV.

He agreed on the fact that Crawford is the superior opponent in terms of boxing skill. “Terrence is a brilliant fighter (but) he doesn’t yet have the profile of some of the greatest names of the generation,” he continued. So given the fight cancelation, what’s the possible solution for it? He revealed that the Canelo vs. Paul fight could be a massive financial success. Why? “With sponsorship with all other revenue, with international TV, with global pay-per-view, I think that (Canelo vs. Jake Paul) fight generates $200 million,” he stated boldly.

Jake Paul’s popularity makes him a bigger draw. On top of that, who doesn’t want an easy fight with huge revenue? According to Hearn, the fight could attract at least 2 million pay-per-view buys, bringing in approximately $180 million from PPV sales alone, with another $30 million from ticket sales.

Hearn also estimated that even if the two parties decide to do a 50/50 deal, Canelo and Paul can take home $100 million each easily. By the way, if it really happens, the Mexican champion would be on Cloud 9. Why? It’s because he has had a long-standing goal of securing a nine-figure payday and a fight against Jake Paul guarantees him just that, with very little downside. But then you’ll have to set aside the repercussions of what the fight could do for Canelo Alvarez’s legacy in boxing. That would certainly be a blemish that would be hard for the Mexican star to do away with.

With that said, even though Canelo wasn’t interested in fighting The Problem Child, given the situation, do you think Canelo will fight him next? What do you think?