Take it as posturing or the real deal, but powerful Saudi Arabian boxing broker Turki Alalshikh has said he is no longer interested in building a fight between Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez.
Alalshkih, the man who has served as the figurehead for the Riyadh Season movement and is primarily responsible for injecting life into the boxing world, posted an informative update on social media on Tuesday morning.
He discussed his plans to continue producing boxing events in the United States and provided information on potential next steps for some of the top names he’s already worked with over the past few years.
Here is a look at the post.
Most notably, he called out Canelo regarding a fight with Crawford; it’s not something he wants anymore. Crawford has shared his desire to fight Canelo, calling it a legacy fight that could provide generational wealth. Alalshikh has publicly stated his intentions to make the fight happen.
On Tuesday, Canelo was asked to give the payout amount he’d want to fight Crawford, and he told one reporter $150 million. It’s unclear if that was a serious demand or posturing. It’s also unclear if that response pushed Alalshikh to abandon making a Canelo-Crawford superhighway.
In any case, the fight appears dead as of now.
Those of us who have been around the boxing world for a while know that death is a day-to-day concept, especially in fight negotiations. If both sides legitimately desire to fight, it can and will happen eventually.
That said, Crawford and Canelo are still looking for options. Canelo will face Edgar Berlanga Jr. on Sept. 14 in Las Vegas.
The Mexican legend will face the UFC on that date, as the mixed martial arts promotion will deliver one of its biggest shows ever. Noche UFC takes place at The Sphere on the same day.
Crawford is coming off a tough unanimous decision victory over Israil Madrimov on Saturday, Aug. 3, at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. Crawford has said he isn’t interested in fighting Jaron “Boots” Ennis despite the Matchroom star’s consistent callouts of the future Hall-of-Famer.
Golden Boy star Vergil Ortiz Jr. is another potential opponent for Crawford. However, it would seem he would fall into the same category as Ennis as an up-and-coming fighter who doesn’t register as a legacy fight for Bud.
Crawford told the media a rematch with Errol Spence Jr. was no longer on the table, which somehow felt like more of a final decision than Alalshikh’s claim to be done trying to make a fight with Canelo.
Lastly, it doesn’t appear Crawford would have great interest in fighting 154-pound champion in recess Jermell Charlo, despite the bad blood the two have had toward each other over the years. Crawford could also look to unify the 154-pound titles by challenging
A fight with Canelo is the biggest fight Crawford can get from a monetary standpoint, and you can bet the Mexican legend is aware of this fact. That likely explains his hardball financial demand. We’ll have to see who blinks first in this high-stakes game of chicken.