Boxing

Eddie Hearn Stands By Claim That Canelo Alvarez vs Jake Paul Fight Was A Done Deal

Matchroom Boxing chairman Eddie Hearn discussed his incorrect claim about Canelo Alvarez vs. Jake Paul being a done deal.
Grant Young|
Eddie Hearn is seen during a press conference at The Glasshouse on the Gold Coast, Monday, January 06, 2025.
Eddie Hearn is seen during a press conference at The Glasshouse on the Gold Coast, Monday, January 06, 2025. | IMAGO / AAP

On February 6, Matchroom Boxing chairman Eddie Hearn was quoted by Ring Magazine, "As I'm hearing, Canelo vs. Paul is done." Meaning, in other words, that the fight was a done deal and going to happen.

Later that evening, it came out that not only was the Canelo vs. Jake Paul fight no longer on the table, but Canelo instead signed a four-fight deal with Turki Alalshikh that essentially guarantees he won't even be able to negotiate a potential fight with Paul until after 2026.

Given how well-connected Hearn is within the industry, it isn't often that something he says gets proven untrue — especially as quickly as this Canelo vs. Paul comment. However, Hearn still seemingly stands by his words, which he revealed during his February 12 appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show.

"Firstly, all I said in the interviews was I've heard that [the Canelo Alvarez vs. Jake Paul] fight is agreed. And by the looks of things, it was in a sense of moving forward and speaking to potential stakeholders and broadcasters," Hearn said.

"It's a wild turn of events, and I guess we'll never know the exact truth. But from the outside, it looks like Jake and Canelo were negotiating for a fight with a broadcaster," he added.

Hearn later continued by saying, "I think Canelo Alvarez was very much interested in boxing Jake Paul. Because he's all about the deal... You're going to get $100 million to fight Jake Paul. Why wouldn't he?"

"By the sounds of things, that fight was on the brink," Hearn concluded.

It sounds like Hearn stands by what he initially said.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young is a Staff Writer for On SI’s Boxing, New York Mets, Indiana Fever, and Women’s Fastbreak sites. Before joining SI in 2024, he wrote for various boxing and sports verticals such as FanBuzz and NY Fights. Young has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in creative writing with an emphasis on sports nonfiction from the University of San Francisco, where he played five seasons of Division 1 baseball. He fought Muay Thai professionally in Thailand in 2023, loves a good essay, and is driven crazy trying to handle a pitpull puppy named Aura. Young lives in San Diego and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.