Paul fumed over the cancellation of a fight with an opponent and was met with plenty of ridicule.
Jake Paul has faced sharp criticism for challenging Saul Alvarez and his reaction to Canelo’s cancellation.
The miracle of life ensured that, aeons ago, seemingly spontaneous physical and chemical reactions set the stage for everything that surrounds us today. As random as these events may have been, they are the origin of many things we now take for granted: Every morning, the sun rises. Every morning, the North Amazon red squirrel (Sciurus igniventris) sets out in search of tasty tree seeds. Every morning, Jake Paul wonders how he can best annoy the world with his existence today.
Jake Paul Complains About Canelo’s Cancellation
After the Paul brothers already dashed our hopes last week of seeing them beat each other up, this time it was the elderly-brawler Jake himself who was furious over a fight that wasn't happening.On February 7, he took to X (formerly Twitter, now barely tolerable) to criticize Mexican boxing legend Saul "Canelo" Alvarez for refusing to step into the ring with him.
Breaking news: Canelo Alvarez ducked me Jake Paul and is now an owned slave with no regard for the pride of the Mexican people who support him on US soil. it's not surprising when his whole career he has done nothing for the sport of boxing outside the ring. I'm the new face of... pic.twitter.com/oKJmPZFkzD
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) February 7, 2025
After Canelo canceled a planned boxing match and instead signed a deal with the Riyadh Season, a winter entertainment event, Paul declared that his rival had never done anything for the sport of boxing, while Paul himself, in his own assessment, was now the new face of the sport and that no relevant fight could take place without him.
Criticism On "Slave"-Statement
In the process, he also referred to Canelo as a "slave", a remark that was widely criticized. This included strong backlash from Saudi Arabia, home to the Riyadh Season.
Not only did several ministers condemn the American’s choice of words, but one of Saudi Arabia’s most influential sports officials, Turki Alalshikh, also spoke out.
He stated that he believed Canelo was still too young for a fight against Jake Paul and that Paul should give him another 30 years before taking on the then 60-year-old – a jab at the fact that Paul enjoys choosing legendary but, well, rather old opponents like Mike Tyson as his rivals.
Turki Alalshikh said he wants to put on Jake Paul vs. MrBeast for the Disney Youtube belt pic.twitter.com/pZlZC8fLOo
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) February 7, 2025
Furthermore, Alalshikh suggested that Jake Paul should step into the ring with MrBeast instead and that a Disney-organized fight for the "YouTube Belt" should take place.
Even Canelo’s original selection as an opponent wasn’t entirely free from criticism, as some boxing fans pointed out that the height difference between the 5'11 Jake and Canelo, who stands at around 5'7, would be just as questionable as Paul’s tendency to fight boxers who are long past their prime.
Do you think Jake Paul is right about his role in the boxing sport? Which opponent would you like Jake Paul to see confronted in the ring with?