Jake Paul has set his sights on a fight with Canelo Alvarez after the Mexican made his return to the ring with a win over Christian Mbilli.
Competing for the first time in 13 months, the Mexican won by a unanimous points decision after a hard-fought battle in Riyadh, absorbing plenty of punishment from Mbilli to win back the WBC super-middleweight title.
The encounter had gone ahead in Saudi Arabia despite continuing tensions in the Middle East, and marked a significant success for the Mexican having suffered only the third defeat of his career in his last bout with Terence Crawford in September of last year.
Paul, the YouTuber-turned-boxer, was an interested observer and was impressed by Canelo – before vowing that the pair will fight at some point.
“Out of the ring for 13 months but still the same old Canelo. Respect,” he said on social media. “[He] did take a lot of punches though. We will dance my friend, we will dance.”
The two boxers previously came close to fighting in early 2025 before Canelo signed a four-fight deal with Saudi promoter Turki Alashikh.
Paul has confirmed that he will return to the ring for the first time since losing to Anthony Joshua with a fight on Christmas Eve in Dubai. His opponent is as yet unconfirmed.
