“I will make Canelo Álvarez the most dominant force boxing has ever seen” Prince Mohammed bin Salman launches a multimillion-dollar bid to become Canelo’s exclusive promoter and unleashes total chaos on world boxing (December 2025)

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – December 8, 2025. The boxing world has never been so close to collapse.

According to exclusive sources from ESPN, Marca and Al-Riyadiya, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), has presented a historic and unprecedented offer to become the exclusive promoter of Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez for the next ten years, with an amount that exceeds 2.5 billion dollars guaranteed plus a percentage of PPV that could raise the figure to 4 billion.

The Saudi plan is ambitious and brutally clear: turn Canelo into the absolute face of world boxing, organize four fights a year exclusively in Riyadh or Jeddah, and create a “Canelo League” with the best super middleweights and middleweights on the planet.

The offer includes the construction of an 80,000-seat boxing stadium in Riyadh called “Canelo Arena” and an annual Netflix-style documentary produced by the royal family itself.

The news broke this morning when the Saudi sports minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, confirmed in a press conference: «We will turn Canelo Álvarez into the most dominant force that boxing has ever seen.

“Saudi Arabia will be the new world capital of boxing and Canelo will be our king.”

The proposed contract includes never-before-seen clauses:

250 million guaranteed per fight (absolute record). 70% of global PPV revenue. Right of veto over rivals. Honorary Saudi citizenship and tax residence in Riyadh. An annual mandatory fight against David Benavidez or Dmitry Bivol if they win their next fights.

Eddie Hearn, Canelo’s current promoter via Matchroom and DAZN, received the formal offer last night. Close sources claim that the Briton was literally speechless for 40 seconds before responding with the ten words that are now boxing history:

“Not for sale. Canelo decides, not billionaires.”(Not for sale. Canelo decides, not the billionaires.)

Hearn’s response was immediately posted on Instagram and X, reaching 28 million interactions in less than 12 hours. Canelo Álvarez, from his camp in San Diego, shared the publication with a simple Mexican flag emoji and the phrase: “My people always first .”

The boxing world is on fire. Oscar De La Hoya tweeted: “This is the end of boxing as we know it.” Julio César Chávez Sr. declared on Televisa: “Canelo is Mexico, he is not for sale.”

Turki Alalshikh, the man behind Riyadh Season, responded with an Instagram story: “I respect the loyalty, but the offer still stands.”

DAZN, which currently pays Canelo 35 million per fight, has called an emergency meeting with its shareholders. The platform’s shares fell 9% in pre-market after the leak. PBC and Premier Boxing Champions are also on high alert.

Mexican fans have flooded the networks with #CaneloNoSeVende, the number 1 global trend with more than 4.2 million publications. In Guadalajara, hundreds of people gathered in front of the statue of Canelo with flags and banners: “Mexico is priceless!”

Turki Alalshikh, architect of Saudi boxing, did not give up. This morning he published a 42-second video from a private jet: «I respect Eddie and Mexico, but the offer goes up to 3 billion guaranteed. Canelo deserves to be the highest paid athlete in history. “The decision is yours.”

Canelo Álvarez has not yet spoken publicly, but close sources assure that he is “furious” with the leak and that his response will be in the ring: he plans to announce his next fight in May 2026 at the Azteca Stadium before 90,000 people, exclusively with Mexican capital.

Eddie Hearn, in an interview with IFL TV, was blunt: «Canelo is already the face of boxing. You don’t need to sell your soul for Saudi money. “Mexico against the world, always.”

Meanwhile, Prince Mohammed bin Salman has ordered the Kingdom Arena to be prepared to receive Canelo at any time. A private jet with registration HZ-MBS1 is already in San Diego waiting for a response.

Boxing has never been so divided: on one side, Mexican loyalty and tradition; on the other, the most powerful financial machinery that sport has ever known.

And in the center of the storm, a single man: Saúl Álvarez, the king who can decide if boxing remains Mexican… or becomes Saudi.

And in the center of the storm, a single man: Saúl Álvarez, the king who can decide if boxing remains Mexican… or becomes Saudi.

And in the center of the storm, a single man: Saúl Álvarez, the king who can decide if boxing remains Mexican… or becomes Saudi.

The Saudi plan is ambitious and brutally clear: turn Canelo into the absolute face of world boxing, organize four fights a year exclusively in Riyadh or Jeddah, and create a “Canelo League” with the best super middleweights and middleweights on the planet.