Boxing has always been littered with brazen, loudmouth, over the top characters – Muhammad Ali, Bernard Hopkins, Tyson Fury and Carl Froch have never been afraid to shoot from the lip faster than they release a devastating blow but they all had immense ability packed into explosive fists.

Last week, for about a day, boxing had what was sure to be a huge pay-per-view draw on the table when ESPN reported that the undisputed super middleweight champion, Canelo Alvarez, and Jake Paul were finalizing a deal for a fight in May 2025 in Las Vegas.

Canelo Alvarez's next opponent will be undefeated William Scull. The two will fight May 3 in Saudi Arabia for the undisputed super middleweight title.

Alvarez signed a four-fight deal with Riyadh Season, nixing the Jake Paul bout which was being finalized for May 3 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and expected to stream on Netflix.

Alvarez is now set to have a showdown with fellow pound-for-pound star Terence Crawford in September, after a turbulent week of negotiations that at one stage seemed to suggest Canelo would miss out on the Crawford bout in order to face Jake Paul.

Canelo Álvarez is set to face off against William Scull in an undisputed fight on May 3. Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia's General

Canelo Alvarez vs. Jake Paul very much would’ve been everything Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul was not. It's a good thing for all that we didn't get to see it.