Eddie Hearn leaps to defence of Jake Paul after Canelo fight is blocked… and compares HIMSELF to YouTube star

Promoter and YouTube star recently got a ‘deal done’ together

EDDIE HEARN leaped to Jake Paul’s defence amid the collapse of his Canelo Alvarez fight – and even compared HIMSELF to the YouTube star.

YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul and Mexican great Canelo were close to announcing a shock May 3 bout in Las Vegas.

Eddie Hearn and Jake Paul at a press conference.
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Eddie Hearn leaped to Jake Paul’s defence after the Canelo Alvarez fight collapsedCredit: Rex

Canelo Alvarez waves to the crowd at a press conference.
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Canelo walked away from a deal to fight Jake PaulCredit: Getty
But Canelo pulled the plug at the last minute to instead sign a bumper four-fight deal with Saudi supremo Turki Alalshikh.

Paul claimed the powers that be did everything they could to prevent the mega-fight – sickened at the thought of him fighting boxing’s best.

And Hearn actually agrees with the American’s sentiment – even seeing a bit of himself in the self-proclaimed Problem Child.

He told SunSport: “I do believe that Jake Paul was ready to fight Canelo Alvarez.

“I know that there’s criticism that he’s never fought a real fight before while he was trying to.

“I think anyone that has power, anyone that has a little bit of a big mouth, people will try and block, disrupt. I mean, I have it myself.

“So yeah, there’s gonna be a lot of people that will try and stop Jake Paul in his tracks but he’s a very determined young man, smart man. I’m sure he’ll be just fine.”

Paul, 28, and Canelo, 34, were on the verge of confirming a cruiserweight clash to be streamed on Netflix.

Jake Paul's boxing record.
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But powerful Saudi advisor Alalshikh stepped in to offer Canelo a May 4 bout in Riyadh before his super-fight against Terence Crawford, 37, in September.

Paul now looks set to turn his attention to a new opponent with SunSport understanding an announcement is close.

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Meanwhile, Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions and Hearn struck a deal to confirm Katie Taylor’s trilogy with Amanda Serrano on July 11.

Taylor, 38, has won two controversial decisions over Serrano, 36, in New York’s Madison Square Garden in 2022 and Texas last November.

Now they renew their epic rivalry once more at the famous MSG live on Netflix in an all-women’s card.

Hearn said: “I felt the size of the second fight, obviously the size of the first fight, the platform as well.

“Amanda and Katie could fight 100 times and it would be Fight of The Year contenders every time.

“So we were pleased to get a deal done with MVP and looking forward to the trilogy.”

Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano at a press conference with Eddie Hearn and Jake Paul.
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Katie Taylor, Hearn, Jake Paul and Amanda SerranoCredit: Rex

Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano boxing.
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Taylor won the rematch against Serrano in TexasCredit: Getty

Katie Taylor boxing Amanda Serrano.
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Serrano lost a controversial decision to Taylor in 2022 in New York