Hearn On Canelo-Paul: “He’s Doing It For A Sack Full Of Money”

Promoter Eddie Hearn says Canelo Alvarez will be receiving a payday between $80 million to $120 million for his fight against Jake Paul. Today, it was revealed the fight will happen on May 3rd in Las Vegas.

Hearn is in favor of Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) choosing to take the big payday against Jake (11-1, 7 KOs). He feels it’s a smart move for the businessman boxer, who can make a lot of money in a non-risky fight against the cruiserweight Paul.

The PPV Potential

Fans might not like the fight, but Paul’s huge social media following will ensure that it’s successful and likely the biggest PPV event of 2025. There will be enough of Canelo’s fans ordering the fight to further ensure that it brings in good numbers.

“I am biased because I like Canelo Alvarez, and I think what he’s done in his career is proven everything. His resume is unbelievable,” said Eddie Hearn to Fight Hub TV. “If you want to make $100 million to fight Jake Paul. The thing is about Canelo. He doesn’t tell any lies. He’s very transparent.

“He’s not going to try to justify this fight to you. ‘No, what I’m doing is bringing boxing to a wider audience.’ No, he’s doing it for a sack full of money. So, whenever you put an opponent forward to Canelo Alvarez, his question is, ‘How much?

“He’s a businessman at this stage of his career. Someone is offering $80 million, $100 million, $120 million to fight Jake Paul. It’s a fight in which there is absolutely no risk. By the way, you can’t criticize Jake Paul because the criticism for him is, ‘When are you going to fight someone decent? Well, guess what? He may be fighting Canelo Alvarez. I don’t hate him. I’ll be watching.

Whoever pays Canelo and Jake the kind of money Hearn is talking about will take some risk. If Netflix will pay them, I’ve got the money to increase their subscriber base. With Jake’s tremendous following on social media and YouTube, whoever finances this fight could turn a profit.

It would have to bring in a lot of PPV buys obviously along the lines of the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor event. The pay-per-view price for Canelo-Paul would have to be high for the event to prevent the organizers from hemorrhaging money.

“The only respect is the money. He’s [Jake] not doing it for free. He’s not going it because he wants to prove himself as a great fighter. He’s doing it for $100 million as well or whatever he’s getting,” said Hearn about Jake Paul. “It’s dangerous, and he’s going to get spanked. However many rounds Canelo wants it to be.”

The Risk

If Canelo gets hit as often as he did in his last fight against Edgar Berlanga, you can’t rule out an upset win for Jake Paul. Berlanga has no ability whatsoever, and he was putting hands on Alvarez after the Mexican star gassed out after four rounds.

Jake is at least as talented as Berlanga but hits harder and wouldn’t fight dumb by shelling up against the ropes the way he did. Moreover, Paul would actually try to win and not just show up to receive his paycheck and participation trophy.

“The only thing is, Jake is going to be a lot heavier and bigger, but no disrespect to Jake’s ability as a fighter. He’s fighting Canelo Alvarez who is one of the top fighters in the world. He’s going to make a lot of money while he’s receiving the spanking,” said Hearn.