Turki Alalshikh Amused by Jake Paul’s Canelo ‘Victim’ Story

Jake Paul is still telling the story like a fight was taken from him, but Turki Alalshikh’s response suggests it was never taken seriously in the first place.

Alalshikh reacted with a string of laughing emojis to Paul’s latest recounting of his collapsed 2025 bout with Canelo Alvarez, and the tone of that response said more than a full statement would have. Jake has continued to describe the fight as a near-done deal, claiming a letter of intent was signed and that outside pressure tied to a massive Saudi agreement forced Canelo to walk away at the last moment.

“It almost happened. We were on the one-yard line,” Jake said, adding that a multi-fight deal worth hundreds of millions was put at risk if Canelo fought him first. In Paul’s version, that pressure killed a fight that would have earned him around $100 million.

Turki’s reaction cuts through that version of events. The same Saudi backing Jake points to is what redirected Canelo toward a far bigger set of fights against established names, leaving no space for a crossover bout. The emoji reply lands as a dismissal of the idea that anything meaningful was lost.

Both sides are telling it differently. Jake is still positioning the fight as a missed moment that boxing insiders did not want to see happen. Alalshikh is treating it like something that never belonged alongside the fights Canelo ultimately chose.

That contrast leaves Jake arguing over a fight that exists only in his telling, while the side with the money and control appears to view it as a non-event.

We all know the ending to this story. Jake missed out on his $100 million payday, and it was 38-year-old Terence Crawford who ultimately wound up fighting Canelo last September.