Jake Paul believes he was close to facing Canelo Alvarez before the deal collapsed earlier this year. The YouTuber-turned-boxer claims Alvarez had already agreed to fight him before choosing a multi-fight contract with Saudi advisor Turki Alalshikh instead.Talks had been underway for a potential Cinco de Mayo weekend fight in 2025, but the deal seemingly unraveled over broadcasting rights. Paul’s team pushed for Netflix after their successful Tyson event, while Alvarez’s camp insisted on a traditional pay-per-view model.With both sides refusing to compromise, Alalshikh presented Alvarez with an ultimatum that reportedly tied his participation in the Riyadh Season series to skipping the Paul bout. Speaking about the potential fight in an interview with ESPN, Paul said:"I think Turki is the man who can make it happen. I'm open to it, Turki has expressed some interest in it, and, obviously, Canelo had already signed up to fight me, so I think all that is left to do is to make it happen."Alvarez went on to sign the lucrative deal with Riyadh Season, facing William Scull and later Terence Crawford. Paul, meanwhile, accused the Mexican boxing star of ducking him. His promotion, Most Valuable Promotions, also criticized hidden agendas behind the failed negotiations.Months later, Paul met with Alalshikh in New York to smooth things over, which has kept the hopes of the matchup alive.When Jake Paul claimed he would've beaten Canelo Alvarez "for sure" after the William Scull fightJake Paul said he saw holes in Canelo Alvarez’s game during his fight against William Scull. The YouTuber-turned-boxer claimed he would have beaten the Mexican superstar had their planned fight gone through in May.Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Paul (11-1) said:" I would’ve beaten Canelo for sure. Even just watching him against Scull, he’s just washed up, inactive, doesn’t throw a lot of punches, not very strong."He added:“And what’s crazy is one of my main sparring partners from the last two years was the one who lost to William Scull. He was the one that should’ve been fighting Canelo. His name’s Shishkin, Vladimir Shishkin. He beat Scull way worse than Canelo did. This is the guy I’m sparring with every day for two-and-a-half years, going toe to toe with.”Check out Jake Paul's comments below:Their matchup fell apart after Alvarez signed a four-fight deal with Saudi promoters instead.