Canelo Alvarez In Early Negotiations For Bout vs Jake Paul

A potential bout between Canelo Alvarez and Jake Paul always seemed to be a pipe dream that would never happen.

That pipe dream may actually become a reality.

Dan Rafael of Fight Freaks Unite reported that a potential match-up between Canelo and Paul is in the beginning stages of negotiations for a fight on Cinco De Mayo weekend. Rafael also noted many hurdles need to be cleared, including at which weight they'll fight.

Canelo last fought at 168 pounds, though, he's fought as high as 175 pounds. Paul has fought as high as 228.5 pounds in his last fight and as low as 181 pounds.

"The sides are in the early stages of discussing the fight for this spring — targeted for Las Vegas on May 3, the Cinco de Mayo weekend Mexico’s Alvarez traditionally fights on — multiple sources with knowledge of the talks told Fight Freaks Unite," Rafael wrote on his Substack. "They stressed the conversations are in the early stages and very preliminary with a variety of things that would need to be hashed out, not the least of which is the contract weight."

Sources: @Canelo, @jakepaul in preliminary talks for May fight; fall bout vs. @terencecrawford also in works for the super middleweight champion. Read my story & sign up for my #boxing newsletter: https://t.co/0pNfm3tEra #CaneloPaul #CaneloCrawford @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/zxPlFRHWZh
— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) February 5, 2025

Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs), 34, has also reportedly agreed to a bout against pound-for-pound great Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) for September at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Canelo holds three of the four major belts at super middleweight and his manager/trainer, Eddie Reynoso, said last week that IBF champion William Scull (23-0, 9 KOs) and Christian Mbilli (28-0, 23 KOs), who is ranked No. 1 by the WBC, were the two likely opponents for May.

Paul, (11-1, 7 KOs), 28, has called out Canelo for much of his young boxing career, which began in 2020. The YouTube and social media star's last bout was a unanimous decision win over the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion and boxing Hall of Famer Mike Tyson. The bout was eight two-minute rounds.

MORE: Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford Reportedly Agree To Fight

The lone reason for Canelo to seek a bout with Paul is the money it would generate for what would more than likely be an easy win for the Mexican superstar. It could also just be to eventually pivot to Scull or Mbilli and make that bout look better.

Regardless, a potential bout versus Paul could be argued as a black eye for the sport of boxing, though, given Canelo's recent choice of opposition when he had David Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) in his weight class, it's clear he won't care as he laughs his way to the bank.

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