Canelo Alvarez has admitted that he would only consider fighting Jake Paul when he is “done with boxing” after the internet sensation repeatedly expressed his desire for the fight to be staged.

The man known as “Problem Child” is 12 fights into his professional career in the ring, with his recent face off with Mike Tyson representing his most significant outing to date. The Netflix-backed event proved controversial, not least due to the 30-year age gap between the pair, as Paul prevailed via a unanimous decision on the night.

Drawing in a viewership of 108 million spectators worldwide, the match stands as the 10th most-watched sporting event in history. As Paul sets his sights on his next bout, he has made no secret of his desire to pit his wits against legendary pound-for-pound fighter Canelo in the future.

Explaining that he felt a contest against the Mexican could prove an even bigger draw in terms of ratings, the American issued a stern callout recently. Speaking on Timbo Sugar Show before facing Tyson, he said: “Me vs. Canelo at 200 pounds for the cruiserweight championship of the world is the biggest fight, arguably even bigger than me vs. Tyson.

“It makes so much sense. Canelo is on his way out. He’s going to want a payday and I want to show the world all the s— I’ve been talking about beating Canelo is actually true and I’ll have the biggest upset in the history of boxing.”

Moreover, given the discourse that ensued within the boxing community over the age difference between him and Tyson before their fight, Paul sees a hypothetical battle with Canelo as a chance to show his legitimacy. He said: “Everyone’s biggest critique is fight a pro, fight someone your age.

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Jake Paul has made no secret of his desire to fight legendary boxer Canelo Alvarez

Jake Paul has made no secret of his desire to fight legendary boxer Canelo Alvarez ( 

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Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

“So when I say ‘Canelo’ is the person, then everyone hates on that,” he continued, as he fired back at his detractors. “What do you want? Do you want me to fight someone, like people want to see me lose. So wouldn’t the best opportunity to see me lose be going up against ‘Canelo?'”

However, it appears that Canelo plans to resist Paul’s charm offensive for now as he vowed to only fight the YouTube superstar at the end of his career. The Mexican icon, who currently holds the WBC, WBA, and WBO super middleweight titles, addressed the speculation with a stern response on the The Full Send Podcast.

He said: “When I’m done with boxing [at the highest level], why not? Yeah, maybe. I think it’s good because it brings fans who don’t normally watch boxing. They know Jake Paul, but they don’t know anything about boxing. Maybe [I’ll take the Paul fight].”