Either Canelo Alvarez knows his worth and won’t accept a penny less, or he doesn’t really want to fight Terence Crawford, and he’s intentionally pricing himself out of range.
On Monday, after his press event to promote his upcoming fight with Edgar Berlanga on Sept. 14, Alvarez was asked about the potential fight with Crawford. Canelo said, “if the money is right,” he would be willing to fight Crawford.
The reporter from FightHype, speaking with Canelo asked how much money it would take to get him to fight Crawford, throwing out $100 million as a potentially acceptable payout. Canelo responded with “$150 million.”
Turkii Alalshikh and the Saudi powerbrokers have been making the necessary investments to produce the fights fans have been craving. Considering what has already been invested, it’s tough to think that this asking price is out of their range.
However, Canelo’s request may come off as a less-than-sincere ask, and Alalshikh has seemingly moved on from the possibility since the Mexican legend made the statement. Early Tuesday morning, Alalshikh took to social media to give an update on his dealings in the world of boxing, and he stated he no longer wanted to make a fight with Canelo.
Instead, Riyadh Season will continue building things in the American market. On Aug. 3, Alalshikh and his team produced their first card in the United States. It took place at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles and was headlined by Terence Crawford vs. Israel Madrimov for the latter’s WBA super welterweight title.
Crawford pulled out the win via unanimous decision, and the fight might have been the perfect segue into talks with Canelo. Perhaps Canelo’s asking price was a deterrent, or there was some other factor. In any case, Alalshikh says he is no longer interested in the fight.
This is boxing, and things change all the time. A door that seemingly closes on Tuesday can reopen the following week. I spoke to one boxing insider who doesn’t believe Alalshikh’s stance is permanent.
He attributed it more to mind games and negotiation tactics. That said, there was an acknowledgment that Canelo was considered Crawford’s next desired opponent, but now, a Plan B must be explored even if the attention ultimately shifts back to the Mexican legend.
We will see if anything changes, but the rest of Canelo’s career could be spent fighting the likes of Berlanga, and other fighters believed to be Tier 2 opponents.