Any last-minute hopes that Canelo Alvarez and Jake Paul will fight in May are over.
Alvarez, who had been in negotiations for a megafight with Paul until he abruptly pulled out of the talks Thursday night, will fight William Scull on May 3 in Saudi Arabia for the undisputed super middleweight championship.
Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority who signed Alvarez to a four-fight deal, made the announcement Saturday on X, formerly Twitter.
Scull is 23-0 with nine knockouts and is the IBF super middleweight champion. Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) would have made far more money fighting Paul, Alalshikh indicated in the interview with ESPN.
“It was big offer for him,’’ Alalshikh said. “And I don’t match this offer, to be honest. But, (Alvarez) know inside him, this match is not … right for his legacy.’’
Since Alvarez pulled out of negotiations with Paul Thursday night, the YouTuber has lashed out and mocked Canelo on X, formerly Twitter. Alvarez eventually responded.
“Hey guys, don’t pay attention … to this (expletive) YouTuber,’’ Alvarez said in a video posted on X Friday. “I just fight real fighters.’’
But not until Saturday afternoon did Paul write he was “done with” Alvarez and added, “Working on finalizing the next fight.’’
Paul (11-1, 7 KOs) is looking for his first opponent since beating Mike Tyson by unanimous decision Nov. 15.