Canelo Álvarez Confirms Four-Fight Riyadh Season Deal

Rumors, gossip, and claims of fight deals have circulated for a week about Saul “Canelo” Álvarez, considered by many the current face of boxing. They caught fire like a match tossed into dry brush.

Fans will now wake up on Friday to confirmation of something none of them expected. And for the Jake Paul haters, they can apparently breathe a sigh of relief.

The head of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority and the owner of Ring Magazine, Turki Alalshikh, posted a message on his social media accounts, which was later confirmed by his magazine.

Alalshikh has apparently secured a four-fight deal between Riyadh Season and Álvarez.

Alalshikh: “Don’t Mess With The Lion”

“Canelo in Riyadh in May The big fight in the history of boxing, September. Then two more fights for ’26,” said Alalshikh, concluding with a wink, “Don’t mess with the lion.”

The May bout will officially mark Canelo Álvarez’s debut with Riyadh Season. While no opponents have been named, it is widely expected that, despite other media reports, the fight will not be against Paul.

We understand if your head is spinning trying to figure all this out.

The frenzy got started in earnest Monday when Ring Magazine first reported an agreement between Álvarez and Crawford as part of a three-fight deal. While contracts had not been signed, term sheets were in place. A term sheet is a list of agreed-upon terms that form the basis for a legal contract to be signed.

But those who follow the sport know that Álvarez customarily announces his own fights via his own social media. That hadn’t happened, and nether he or his team had no confirmation.

Hours later, a terse report with the byline “Ring staff” announced the Canelo vs. Crawford fight was off. Was it, in fact, ever on? And why would Alalshikh’s own magazine announce news of the deal and then retract it? It seems negotiations must have taken a left turn.

Then the news came that made boxing Twitter go wild. Álvarez was allegedly heading for a fight against boxer and social media star Jake Paul in a Cinco de Mayo fight at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Or at The Sphere, depending on who you believe. Whichever one it might be, the idea sent fans into a tizzy of outrage.

Paul did what he does best: fan the flames by posting a picture of Álvarez.

The only person quoted on the record who was in a position to know was not Matchroom Boxing chairman Eddie Hearn. It was Jake Paul’s advisor, Nakisa Bidarian, who insisted the Canelo Alvarez mega-fight was not yet ready to be announced.

“Wild times when the media is running with a confirmation of a potential fight based on the words of a person who has nothing to do with the fight,” said Bidarian.

“When there is something to announce, we will announce it.

“No outside promoter has any accurate insight on our discussions being concluded or not with any Jake Paul opponent [multiple names in discussion].”

And – still no word from the Álvarez camp, until Thursday night.

Following Alalshikh’s social media posts, they were all reposted without comment by Álvarez. In today’s world, this is considered confirmation. Álvarez also reposted with a comment of his own: “Let’s go, brother.”

It’s a stunning turn of events, exciting to some and disappointing to others.

Potential Opponents For Álvarez

So who will be the opponents, assuming that we finally have the full story to this point?

May’s fight will not be against Paul. It’s likely Álvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) will either fight for the single super middleweight belt he no longer holds, the IBF title now in the hands of William Scull of Germany (23-0, 9 KOs). Also potentially in the hunt is Jermall Charlo of Houston (33-0, 22 KOs). Jermall Charlo last fought in November 2023 against Jose Benavidez Jr.

Charlo’s brother Jermell (35-2-1, 19 KOs) was thoroughly pounded by Alvarez in September 2023.

The other potential opponent is the improbable Bruno Serace of France (26-0-2, 5 KOs), who won the Upset of the Year for 2025 when he knocked out Jaime Munguia of Mexico (44-2, 35 KOs) on December 14 with a single right hook in front of Munguia’s stunned hometown fans in Tijuana, Mexico.

The September fight is reported to be the anticipated matchup with Crawford in Las Vegas. Crawford posted his own response Thursday night.

“I’m waiting on Canelo in September and going to shock the world in Riyadh Season.”

Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) was in the main event of the only major Riyadh Season card to date in Los Angeles in August. He won a decision over Israil Madrimov of Uzbekistan (10-1-1, 7 KOs) in his first fight at 154 pounds. Now Crawford will have ample time to work his way up two more divisions to take on Alvarez.

The fights in 2026 are far harder to predict, as a lot can happen between now and those dates months away. The third and fourth fight will reportedly take place in Riyadh in February and in October of 2026.

As for opponents, the possible names being circulated by various sources as a rematch with Dmitriy Bivol to avenge Alvarez’s last loss; the winner of the fight between Hamzah Sheeraz of England (21-0, 17 KOs) and Carlos Adames of the Dominican Republic (24-1, 18 KOs) for Adames’ WBC World Middleweight title; or middleweight Chris Eubank Jr., who is angling for the long-anticipated fight with his foe Conor Benn.

The fourth fight of the deal, sources said, is planned for October 2026 in Riyadh.

The fights in Saudi Arabia will be the first fights of Alvarez’s long professional career outside either the United States or Mexico.

Fool Me Once, Shame On You. Fool Me Twice…

The moral of our story: until the promoters and the fighters involved ALL confirm a fight contract is signed, and there’s a ring and a date, don’t believe the hype.

If you believed specific sources had the real story and you got burned, why would you trust them to give you accurate information in the future? Be a better boxing news consumer. Don’t reward the clickbait, which keeps them earning a living by claiming gossip as fact.

No one needs to cry for Jake Paul, the man left at the altar. No doubt he’s got a Plan B, Plan C, and Plan D already teed up.