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As Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez gets ready to unify super middleweight titles with Billy Joe Saunders this weekend, Alvarez shares some of his thoughts on the recent trend on YouTube fighters — most notably Jake and Logan Paul who have crashed the sport with their novelty events.
And with Jake Paul describing himself as an ‘elite fighter’, Canelo Alvarez says he doesn’t believe the brothers respect the sport of boxing and thinks it’s dangerous for state commissions to license them to fight professionally (Logan Paul’s upcoming fight against Floyd Mayweather is technically an exhibition, but the absurdity of the whole thing still stands).
“They could get them killed. This is not a soccer game, they could get them killed. I truly believe that it’s a lack of respect. It’s all based on money. It’s all for money. I’m focused right now on other projects. I have other stuff going on, and I would invite him (a Paul brother) for a sparring session so that he truly knows what it’s all about.”
How to Watch Canelo vs Saunders
Date: Saturday, May 8 | Start Time: 8:00 pm ET
Location: AT&T Stadium - Arlington, TX
Streaming: DAZN
Online Coverage: BadLeftHook.com
Canelo would emphasize the fact that a commission would be culpable should a tragedy occur in the ring as the result of sanctioning novices. As of now neither Paul brother has faced another professional boxer in the ring, which obviously mitigates the risk posed to them, but there’s no question that Floyd could put an otherworldly hurting on Logan Paul if he were actually so inclined.
But as it appears this trend is all just fun and games with big money to be made, lining the pockets of everyone involved whether or not it’s to the benefit or detriment of the sport.