Canelo Alvarez might have moved on from Jake Paul in terms of boxing and otherwise, but it doesn’t seem combat sports media has. In that very spirit, UFC commentator Joe Rogan has now claimed that Turki Alalshikh’s interjection in what was to be a mega fight came with a bag full of cash.
“Canelo was going to fight Jake Paul which would have been crazy”, Rogan asserted. If Jake is asked, the Canelo fight had already been signed for May 3.
After his disastrous bout with a 58-year-old Mike Tyson had broken a million and one viewership records, Jake had been determined to reach further with a fight against the Mexican.
But just as things were heating up, Canelo pulled the plug and signed a four-fight deal with Alalshikh and Riyadh Season instead—a deal that includes a massive clash with Terence Crawford.
Alalshikh wasn’t even exactly subtle about it. After the deal was done, he openly mocked Jake and took a few playful shots in an interview with ESPN. “I think Canelo is too young to take this fight,” he joked. Alalshikh also threw in a wild suggestion: Canelo vs. Jake with MrBeast on the card, sanctioned by Disney, for the YouTuber belt.
Stating the obvious in an episode of the JRE podcast with his buddy Brendan Schaub, Rogan explained the situation to the best of his capabilities.
“And then…Turki came along and said we’re going to open up the f**king case from Pulp fiction”, Rogan joked, citing the suspenseful valise from the 1994 Quentin Tarantino classic.
“They have got so much money. They can do whatever they want. They just throw money at the sport and dominate”, the UFC commentator admitted, still with a hint of disbelief in his voice.
How much is Alalshikh paying Canelo?
According to a report by MMA Weekly, Canelo, despite a reported net worth of $275 million, will be earning something in the ballpark of $400 million over five fights.
The report also claims that Canelo has signed on for five fights (with one of them being hosted in the USA) instead of four, as had been previously claimed. It also quotes journalist Carlos Aguilar asserting that the Mexican maverick will expect to cash in an $80 million cheque after each fight.
Meanwhile, Jake, unable to do much after basically being outbid by an entire government, has been slamming Alalshikh every chance he gets.
Benavidez joins Jake in trolling Canelo
“Hey guys, don’t pay attention to anything from this f**king YouTuber. I just fight real fighters… no f**king around with Canelo! Come on – Let’s go!”
That was Canelo Alvarez shutting down the Jake Paul talk as he locked with Alalshikh and essentially left Jake in the dirt for even suggesting he was going to entertain a fight with a YouTuber.
And Jake took that personally. To his credit, it was a rather pointed personal remark at his career in pugilism.
Paul, who says everything was nearly finalized—including a signed LOI and confidentiality agreement—now claims Canelo bailed for one reason: the bag. Not because he wanted to fight real boxers or whatever, but because Alashikh made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
“He had to threaten Canelo to pull his three-fight deal. ‘You’re not fighting Crawford. I’m not paying you any of this money,’ and he’s basically paying him over a hundred million dollars for this random a– fight in May,” Jake said, citing the William Scull fight.
Joining him in the frustration? David Benavidez. Both Jake and the WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight champion ripped into Canelo for swerving tougher matchups in his division to fight Crawford, who’s jumping two weight classes just to make it happen.
Canelo has yet to respond to any of these remarks.
