In the theater of modern boxing, Jake Paul—the internet-born fighter, who has turned his unorthodox rise into headline gold, recently made waves with a brutally honest confession about the one fight that slipped through his gloves—a super bout with Mexican boxing icon, Canelo Álvarez. They were all set for a fight. According to the Problem Child, a supposed letter of intent has also been signed. However, Canelo, being the savvy businessman he is, left Jake Paul hanging and signed a lucrative four-fight deal, the first of which he fought earlier last month against William Scull.

Speaking candidly in a Most Valuable Promotions exclusive, Paul didn’t hold back. He questioned boxing’s current power dynamic, throwing verbal punches almost as sharply as he does in the ring: “Yeah, I think it’s just a question of, like, who actually is the face of boxing? Who’s giving their fans what they want? Who’s putting on exciting fights around the globe that everyone wants to tune in for, no matter who they’re fighting?”

Then, like a perfectly timed right hook, Paul launched into his criticism of Álvarez’s most recent outing. “And I don’t know if Canelo has that power anymore. No one even knew about that (William Scull)fight, watched it—it was a complete flop. And it was a terrible, boring fight where he had a terrible performance,” Paul asserted. And when asked if he thought Canelo Alvarez would be down to fight him after his four-fight deal with the Saudis ends, he admitted, “Who knows with these guys?”

The conversation quickly turned toward the topic of future matchups. One name that surprisingly entered the picture? Terence Crawford. Paul, never one to shy away from ambition, revealed that even Crawford had been approached for a potential showdown.

“They say they wanna fight, but even Terence Crawford was like, ‘I need $200 million to do it,’” Jake Paul remarked, referencing a recent Club Shay Shay episode in which Crawford laughed off the hypothetical—until the dollar signs were brought into play.

The irony wasn’t lost on fans—after all, Terence Crawford is a generational talent, one of the most complete fighters of this era. By the time Jake Paul turned pro in 2020, Crawford had already built a flawless 36-0 record, unified multiple weight classes, and topped pound-for-pound lists. Yet, in today’s boxing climate, even a fighter of his stature recognizes the undeniable draw and payday Paul brings to the table.

Jake Paul believes Canelo ‘ducked’ him for the Saudi Deal

Jake Paul had accused Canelo Álvarez of backing out of a signed fight to chase Saudi money, calling the undisputed super middleweight champion a “money-hungry squirrel” in a fiery video posted to social media. The YouTuber-turned-boxer claimed both sides had signed a contract for a May 3 bout in Las Vegas, set to stream globally on Netflix, before Canelo abruptly changed course.

According to Paul, the fight was days away from being formally announced when Álvarez pulled out to sign a blockbuster four-fight deal with His Excellency Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season. ESPN’s Mike Coppinger confirmed that the Saudi camp made it clear: if Canelo proceeded with the Paul fight, the lucrative Saudi offer, including future mega-bouts, would be off the table.

“The truth is, you could be bought,” Paul said in the video, addressing Álvarez directly. “These sports-washing, shady characters are paying you hundreds of millions of dollars to stop our fight from happening because they couldn’t fathom the fact that they can’t create a bigger fight than me and you.”

Paul also posted what he claimed was the signed contract as proof, but all it was was an LOI. “You call me a YouTuber, but you’ve never had a boxing match as big as mine,” he said. “Any fight that you do this year, mine will be bigger.”

With the Canelo Alvarez fight now off the table, Jake Paul will turn his attention to Julio César Chávez Jr. on June 28. But the sting of losing what he called “the biggest fight boxing could offer” hasn’t worn off—and he’s made sure the world knows who he blames.