Canelo Alvarez has addressed the story surrounding an alleged $200 million demand to compete Jake Paul, saying the situation was blown out of proportion and did not happen the way it was reported.
Speaking on the Mr. Verzace Podcast, Canelo explained how the interaction with Paul actually began.
“The real story was one of my friends was in Courchevel,” Canelo said. According to him, his friend told Jake Paul that he had a connection to the Mexican superstar, which unexpectedly led to a FaceTime call.
“I was with my little daughter and I saw the FaceTime of my friend and I just answer and Jake Paul was there with him,” he said.
Canelo described the exchange as friendly and casual, with no serious negotiations taking place.
“He start talking, ‘Oh, I respect you’ and this and that,” Canelo recalled. “And I’m, ‘Oh yeah, I have nothing against you too, right? I don’t really care about anything.'”
He then explained where the now-viral $200 million figure came from.
“And my friend starts saying, ‘200 million, 200 million, 200 million,'” Canelo said. “And I don’t say anything because I don’t really care about that matchup really.”
Canelo said he simply laughed off the moment and kept the conversation respectful.
“I just laugh and I say, ‘No, I respect you too.’ I don’t have nothing against you. And that’s it. That’s the story,” he said.
The undisputed boxing star also suggested that his name continues to be used as a promotional tool because of the attention it generates.
“In every single event, they need to talk about me to sell tickets and pay-per-view,” Canelo said. “They always talk about Canelo and ‘I want to compete against Canelo’ because they don’t sell tickets.”
“They don’t sell pay-per-views. They need to mention my name,” he added.
Canelo specifically pointed to Jake Paul as someone benefiting from the association.
“I think Jake Paul don’t sell so much tickets for the matchups, and that’s why he bring that situation, the 200 million,” he said. “I just laugh. I’m not worried about anything.”
Canelo also revealed that he has been back in training for around six weeks after undergoing elbow surgery that sidelined him since last fall. Despite the layoff, he believes his status in boxing remains unchanged.
“As you can tell, everybody is looking for the payday,” Canelo said. “But I’m glad, because you can tell I’m still the face of boxing.”
For now, Canelo appears uninterested in continuing the back-and-forth regarding a potential matchup with Jake Paul.
