Don’t expect Dana White to act all that surprised that Turki Alalshikh struck a deal to sign Canelo Alvarez to a multi-fight deal that ultimately stole him away from a potential showdown against Jake Paul.
It was a rollercoaster ride on Friday when it appeared Canelo was just moments away from inking a contract to face Paul in a boxing match that would have aired on Netflix in May. Paul fought Mike Tyson in a similar event this past November with more than 100 million viewers tuning into watch the show.
Paul obviously hoped he could duplicate or even surpass those numbers, but Canelo ultimately ended up signing a four-fight deal with Riyadh Season instead, which is run by Alalshikh as the chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia.
“Listen, they control the sport of boxing right now,” White said about the team running the show in Saudi Arabia. “I don’t think it’s hard for them to steal anybody from anybody.
“I don’t know the ins and outs of that deal but I’m sure it’s not too hard to steal somebody away from [Jake Paul and Most Valuable Promotions] to Saudi. Totally different levels. Not even t
