Jake Paul on nearly booking Canelo Alvarez fight: ‘We were on the 1-yard line, and we [threw] a pick-6’

Jake Paul nearly got his wish to box Canelo Alvarez. He’ll have to settle for fighting Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in his next boxing match, but to hear Paul tell it, he was so very close to a dream fight with Alvarez.

Everything fell apart in the blink of an eye for a Paul vs. Canelo clash on Netflix on Cinco de Mayo weekend. All was nearly signed and sealed in February, Paul said, then Riyadh Season and Turki Alalshikh swooped in to sign Canelo to a four-fight deal.

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Paul said on Monday’s edition of “The Ariel Helwani Show” the Canelo fight couldn’t have been any closer to happening.

“We were on the 1-yard line, and we [threw] a pick-6,” Paul said. “The interception going the other way, man. In the fourth quarter, game-winner, we just got intercepted. But I understand it. Basically, they threatened to pull Canelo’s $300 million contract if he were to fight me. That’s how bad they want me out of boxing. They can’t stand that I’m the one doing the biggest events, so they threatened to pull his $300 million contract. He was gonna fight me. So I understand where Canelo was coming from and wanting to secure that bread for his family.”

Alvarez, 34, recently had the first of his four boxing matches on the deal with Riyadh Season, when he took on William Scull on the day he and Paul had originally targeted. Despite picking up the win via unanimous decision, Canelo put on a historically dreadful boxing performance, setting a record with Scull for the fewest total punches thrown.

Watching the match, Paul’s confidence only grew. “The Problem Child” believes it’s clear why Riyadh Season and Alvarez went the direction they did, but he still expects to encounter the Mexican icon in the ring one day.

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“If you are someone spending billions of dollars in an industry and you aren’t No. 1 and having the biggest events, meanwhile, there’s a little Disney kid running around, spending $0 and having the biggest events, as a competitor, you’re going to do anything to stop that person and to be the biggest,” Paul said. “That’s the nature of this dirty business in boxing, and the egos involved, and how badly people want to be the king of this sport. So that’s the nature of the beast.

“I would have beat Canelo, for sure. Even just watching him against Scull, he’s just washed up, inactive, doesn’t throw a lot of punches, not very strong. What’s crazy is one of my main sparring partners from the last two years was the one who ‘lost’ to William Scull. He was the one that should have been fighting Canelo. His name is Vladimir Shishkin. He beat Scull way worse than Canelo did, and this is the guy I’m sparring with every day for two and a half years, going toe-to-toe with.

“When it happens, I’m going to have the last laugh, and I know what I’m capable of, and there’s a lot more names on the list I’m going to beat in the next couple of years. It’s going to be the greatest boxing career of all time.”

Canelo wasn’t the only pound-for-pound top boxer Paul was targeting after his victory over Mike Tyson this past November. After previous mentions of a match against WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis, Paul claimed that was the next best option and is confident it can also still happen. However, because of the massive size difference between the two, the plan was for a match to take place as a 195-pound exhibition, with 10 three-minute rounds.

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“That was on the 1-yard line, but he has to rematch Lamont Roach,” Paul said of Davis, who is listed as 5-foot-5 1/2 and last fought at 135 pounds. “He wants to get that back, and then we’ll be back in discussions with Mr. Gervonta. But this is the nature of boxing. You have massive fights on the 1-yard line, and things just fall through.”

Ultimately, Paul, who’s 6-1 and weighed 227.2 pounds in his last bout, landed on Cesar Chavez Jr. for June 28 in Anaheim, California.

Cesar, 39, has remained relatively active, last winning a unanimous decision against longtime MMA veteran Uriah Hall in July. Coincidentally, the match took place the same night Paul was originally supposed to face Tyson before the latter had to withdraw with a health scare. Paul instead took on Mike Perry that night and won via sixth-round TKO.

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Regarding all of Paul’s alleged opponents, Chavez was always in the mix.

“I think Julio, that conversation has always been there, and fans have always wanted it,” Paul said. “He’s a former world champion, super experienced, and it’s a good chip on my belt to test myself in the ring with a very, very tough opponent. He has the name behind him, the Mexican fan base, Puerto Rico vs. Mexico, and he was actually somebody that stepped up to the table. The Tommy Fury [discussions] have always been there, the KSI discussions have always been there, but those guys don’t actually want to make a fight happen. Julio stepped up, credit to him, and we made June 28 happen.”

It’s been a good stretch of success in the ring for Paul since he took his first loss via split decision to Tommy Fury in February 2023. He’s won five in a row and still wants a Fury rematch.

“It’s been three years since then, and it’s just night and day,” Paul said. “He hasn’t gotten any better. He’s been boxing since he’s 6 years old. It’s gonna be the same stuff, same coach, his dumbass dad. I just can’t wait. Seriously. I can’t wait to get in there with him whenever we can make that happen.I t’s going to be Christmas Day for me. I think that will happen in the next 12 months.

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“He just has to be realistic about what he’s worth. He just had a free fight on DAZN that tanked. Couldn’t sell the tickets in wherever he was, 1,000-person venue, and he’s negotiating like he’s God. So again, I have 10 names waiting to fight me in multiple different sports, MMA, boxing, all this stuff. These people just have to be realistic about what they’re wanting to be paid. Tommy Fury isn’t, but I DM’d Tyson Fury. … I was like, ‘Tyson, you got to put your brother in check here. He’s not going to get this money or offer anywhere else. He already missed out on the massive opportunity in Netflix.’

“I just feel bad for him because he thinks he’s worth more than what he’s worth.”