Canelo: Maybe Jake Paul Is More Disciplined Than Other Fighters

03/06/2025 11:51 PM

Canelo recently pulled the Jake Paul fight at the last minute but comes across as having some respect for him.

Alvarez is on tour for promoting his upcoming fight with William Scull instead, where, if he wins, he will face Terence Crawford in September.

Speaking to the Hot 97 podcast Canelo said of the likes of Jake Paul, his upcoming fight, all things happening in boxing and more:

Canelo Álvarez: I’m good, thank you. Great to be with you guys.

Peter Rosenberg: Great to have you, man! I’m curious to get your perspective. You’re announcing the fight today, and we also know that it’s going to be a crazy weekend in general with “Fatal Fury” happening here in New York. It feels like—plus the news we got yesterday—do you feel like there’s something happening in the world of boxing right now, like some real momentum for the sport?

Canelo Álvarez: Yes, there are a lot of changes—a lot of changes in the boxing world. But, you know, it’s good for boxing, and I’m here. I’m glad to be here in another promotion for a fight, and I’m excited to see what’s coming.

Peter Rosenberg: Do you have any mixed feelings? How do you feel about leaving North America for the first time for a fight?

Canelo Álvarez: You know, my whole career has been here in America, right? But now I’m going to experience something different, and that motivates me, really. Because it’s something new for me and for my career. At this moment in my career, I think it’s good, and I feel great about that.

Peter Rosenberg: Yesterday’s press conference—or the one two days ago in Times Square—I mentioned catching up with Ryan Garcia. He’s overcome a great year of recovery, and he said he’s favoring you in this fight with William Scull, which is good to hear. What are your thoughts on Ryan Garcia’s comeback, his recovery, and being a new person? He’s calmer now, but he’s looking forward to his fight happening on May 2nd in Times Square.

Canelo Álvarez: No, I’m very happy. I’m very happy to see Ryan like he is today—focused on the fight, focused on life. We like Ryan, you know? We like Ryan, and I’m very happy to see him focused on his life.

Peter Rosenberg: So, I’ve got to ask you about the big news yesterday that came out of Saudi Arabia—Nick Khan and Dana White heading over there to come together and form this potentially great opportunity with Turki Alalshikh to have a new boxing organization that would exist under TKO. What do you make of this new potential situation with TKO in boxing?

Canelo Álvarez: You know, if it’s good for boxing, I’m happy. If it’s good for the fighters, for the promotion of the fighters, and if it’s good for boxing, I’m glad to hear that. I’m pretty sure Turki Alalshikh is going to do good things for boxing with Dana White and Nick Khan too. So, I’m very, very happy to hear that and see that.

Peter Rosenberg: Have you often felt the same frustration that a lot of fans have had with boxing—you know, the alphabet of it all, the different federations? Is the idea of having one concerted effort, like the UFC, where fans can kind of follow along with a ranking system—does that appeal to you generally?

Canelo Álvarez: I don’t mind, you know? I adapt myself to the rules of boxing, and I really enjoy everything. So, I can’t say bad things about that. But, you know, if it’s good for boxing, this new—
How can I say it? These new rules, I think, are good. Everybody’s going to adapt themselves to these new rules. I adapted myself to the old rules, and I’m happy. I can’t say bad things about that.

Peter Rosenberg: Yeah, I mean, it’s worked—you’ve had a good run either way. It would be exciting to see you be a part of something new. But you haven’t—you officially don’t know what your next fight is after May. You have nothing set in stone yet, correct?

Canelo Álvarez: You know, after May, we don’t—we’re free in May, no? And I don’t see another fight there. So, I’m focused 100% on William Scull because he’s a good fighter. He’s a champion for a reason, and I need to beat him first to see other fights. My focus is on him 100%, and then we’ll see.

Peter Rosenberg: Were we close to getting a Jake Paul fight? Can you take us through what happened there? How realistic was a Jake Paul fight for you, Canelo? Because there were mixed feelings—some people thought, “No, it’s beneath Canelo,” and then I think others thought, “I’d like to see Canelo kick Jake Paul’s ass.” How close were we to something happening?

Canelo Álvarez: Yeah, I think everybody wants to see me beat Jake Paul. But, you know, I thought about it for a minute, and we agreed with the promoters to go and see what the numbers were for that fight in May. But, you know, at one moment I said, “You know, I think that event”—because I don’t call it a fight, no, I call it an event—“that event needs to wait.” It’s not the moment to do that kind of event at this point in my career. I think at the end of my career, when I’m retired, maybe—I don’t know. We’ll see.

Peter Rosenberg: Do you see anything in Jake Paul talent-wise? Has he impressed you at all, or do you still see it as a novelty?

Canelo Álvarez: You know, he’s focused on boxing—his discipline. We need to give him credit for that, no? Maybe he’s more disciplined than other fighters, and we need to give credit for that. But as a fighter, it’s very difficult to say. That’s why I call it more of an event than a fight for me. A fight for me is difficult to say.

Peter Rosenberg: You’ve been fighting for so many years. You’ve been in the hearts and eyes of many people in the U.S. and Mexico. Recently, you went down to Mexico to visit the president, and you endorsed her. What can we expect down the line—more fights in Mexico? You definitely endorsed President Sheinbaum.

Canelo Álvarez: Yeah, we’re going to talk about that with Turki Alalshikh. If we have the opportunity to make more big fights in Mexico, I’m glad to help and bring those big fights.

Peter Rosenberg: What, to you—I know obviously your focus is Scull in May, and it has to be because you need to win that fight and unify here and be undisputed—what do you think is out there as the biggest possible fight still for Canelo Álvarez?

Canelo Álvarez: I don’t know. Every fight of Canelo Álvarez is big. But there’s something—maybe there’s something. We’ll see, you know. Everybody’s talking about Crawford in September—it’s not a secret. But, like I say, I’m focused 100% on William Scull in May because it’s boxing, and you need to be focused on the next one 100%.”

Alvarez knows he cant overlook William Scull.

That is where the mentality, discipline and professionalism of Canelo comes in — he always comes prepared for his fights.

Times are changing for boxing but Canelo remains the number one pay per view star in the sport for now.

He won’t want to just stay as number one, though, he will want to go further than that based on his own high standards.

Winning is everything and winning impressively he knows is what it takes — Scull will want to upset the Canelo apple cart of course.

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