Turki Alalshikh has gotten Canelo Alvarez on board.
Late Thursday, a report from ESPN emerged claiming Alvarez and Jake Paul were finalizing a deal to box May 3 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in a cruiserweight bout expected to stream on Netflix.
However, in an 11th-hour swerve, Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, announced Alvarez has instead signed a four-fight deal with Riyadh Season. The deal is expected to have Alvarez box in Saudi Arabia in May, then take on super welterweight champion Terence Crawford in September at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Alalshikh hinted at Alvarez vs. Crawford happening in September by calling it “the biggest fight in the history of boxing.”
Alvarez, 34, is the current WBC and WBO super middleweight champion at 168 pounds. In his most recent appearance this past September, Alvarez dominated Edgar Berlanga by unanimous decision to retain his titles.
Crawford never has weighed in at more than 153 pounds, which came in his most recent outing, a unanimous decision win over Israil Madrimov to become a four-weight world champion.
Paul has yet to comment on the showdown with Alvarez failing to come to fruition after subsequent reports from ESPN indicated it was on the “1-yard line” from being done.
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This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Canelo Alvarez signs four-fight deal with Riyadh Season, nixing Jake Paul bout
