Report: Canelo Álvarez Calls Off Jake Paul Fight, Will Face Charlo or Surace in May

There reportedly won't be a showdown between Canelo Álvarez and Jake Paul after all.

While the pair seemed to be heading toward a showdown in Las Vegas in May, ESPN's Mike Coppinger reported on Friday that Álvarez decided to finish a four-fight deal with Riyadh Season instead. Coppinger called it "a stunning development" and noted it happened after "a formal announcement was imminent" regarding a fight with Paul.

The fight will take place in Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh, and Álvarez responded to the announcement from Turki Alalshikh, who is the chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, on social media:

The question now is who Álvarez will fight in his first bout outside of North America.

Jermall Charlo and Bruno Surace are under consideration, per Coppinger, and the first fight of the four-fight deal will take place in primetime in the United States on Saturday, May 3. Charlo is a familiar name to Álvarez, considering he cruised against Charlo's twin brother, Jermell, in September 2023.

This new deal also means Paul, a former YouTube star turned boxer, won't have a chance to go against one of the best in the sport.

"Canelo only fights real fighters," Alalshikh, who said Álvarez's previously agreed-upon deal with Riyadh Season would have been taken away if he went against Paul, told Coppinger.

Álvarez will certainly face a "real fighter" in September when he goes against Terence Crawford at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

From there, he is scheduled to fight in Riyadh in February 2026 and then again in October 2026. Dmitry Bivol, Hamzah Sheeraz and Chris Eubank Jr. were listed as possible foes.

This deal will provide more formidable competition for Álvarez, but it is hard to argue against the notion that a matchup with Paul would have been quite the spectacle. After all, the latter is a headline name coming off a win over 58-year-old Mike Tyson.

While Paul has generated additional attention for the sport, he also hasn't faced many star boxers in their prime. Álvarez would have been exactly that as the unified champion at 168 pounds and a former 175-pound champion.

Despite Álvarez's status, Paul seemed to hint he would be the draw when the fight was in the works:

Alas, Paul will have to turn his attention elsewhere with this development.