Dana White wasn’t surprised that Turki Alalshikh signed Canelo Alvarez to a multi-fight deal, diverting him from a potential match with Jake Paul, who criticized Canelo for prioritizing money over their fight and accused him of avoiding real competition.
Don’t expect Dana White to be shocked by Turki Alalshikh signing Canelo Alvarez to a multi-fight deal, pulling him away from a potential match with Jake Paul. It was quite the rollercoaster on Friday when Canelo seemed just moments from signing to fight Paul in a Netflix-aired boxing match slated for May. Paul had previously fought Mike Tyson in a similar event last November, drawing over 100 million viewers.
Paul hoped to replicate or even surpass those numbers. But Canelo signed a four-fight deal with Riyadh Season instead, led by Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority. “Listen, they control boxing right now,” White said about the Saudi team. “It’s not hard for them to steal anyone from anyone.”
White admitted he didn’t know the details of the deal but suggested it wasn’t difficult to lure someone from Jake Paul and Most Valuable Promotions to Saudi Arabia. “Totally different levels,” he added. White has business ties with Alalshikh through a UFC-Saudi Arabia deal, with an event headlined by Israel Adesanya against Nassourdine Imavov taking place in early February.
White praised Alalshikh as a tremendous partner, crediting him for revitalizing boxing by making major matchups possible while bypassing red tape. Meanwhile, Paul was furious when his deal with Canelo fell through. He’s repeatedly called out Canelo, who dismissed the idea of fighting a “f*cking YouTuber” and insisted he only fights “real fighters.”
In response, Paul blasted Canelo for signing with Alalshikh, effectively ending their chances of facing each other anytime soon. “Oh, Canelo, you puta. Time to expose him,” Paul said. He claimed they had a signed contract and accused Canelo of being money-driven and disloyal to his previous promoter.
Paul argued that sportswashing figures are paying Canelo millions to prevent their fight because they can’t create a bigger spectacle than him versus Canelo. He criticized Canelo for turning his back on promoter Al Haymon and insisted on loyalty to Netflix for doing big numbers.
Canelo has already moved on, booking a matchup against William Scull in May and eyeing a potential megafight with Terrance Crawford later this year. As for Paul, he’s still fuming over losing the Canelo fight but won’t find much sympathy from UFC CEO Dana White.