Riyadh Season boss Turki Alalshikh has canceled plans for Terence Crawford to fight Canelo Alvarez after the American’s victory over Israil Madrimov.
Crawford was pushed all the way by Madrimov in a tough contest that was due to be a warm-up for a Saudi Arabia or Las Vegas clash with Canelo Alvarez. However, after Crawford struggled with the weight increase from 147 pounds, Alalshikh abandoned any further negotiations.
“I just wrapped up an important meeting with my team, planning for the upcoming fights we will make for 2024-2025. I decided to disregard the Canelo fight, as I don’t want it anymore,” said Alalshikh, who has seemingly positioned himself as the number one fight decision-maker on the planet. “Instead, I will focus on the US market with bigger fights, especially for the legend Crawford.
“Additionally, I will support making fights for Boots [Jaron Ennis], [Devin] Haney, Shakur [Stevenson], [Vergil] Ortiz, [Michael] Anderson, [Jose] Benavidez, [William] Zepeda and more. Regarding Tim Tszyu, there’s something unclear with the communications between his team and our team, so I believe I will reconsider his situation.
“For the rest of the world, I am definitely focusing on the Riyadh Season card: Wembley edition 21st of September [AJ vs. Dubois]. Depending on the results and the results of Riyadh Season’s opening card [Bivol vs. Beterbiev] on the 12th of October, I will build the card for the rematch of Fury vs. Usyk on the 21st of December. Then, another big card in the first quarter of 2025. Stay tuned.”
Furthermore, Canelo participated in a press conference to announce his latest fight and showed little interest in addressing a Crawford fight. Instead, the Mexican superstar is focused on beating Edgar Berlanga on September 14. He then plans a potential fight in Japan later in 2024.
“I’m very happy to be here in this position representing Mexico versus Puerto Rico. I know I’m facing a young and strong fighter,” said Canelo. “I’m going to put all my best into training and this fight. I love boxing, and I love what I do. I’m going to make this a great day for Mexico.
“This is a good fight for the fans. I know he’s going to bring something different. It’s the kind of fight you’re going to remember. I know he’s going to come to bring everything, and I will, too. It’s the kind of fight I enjoy a lot. I can’t wait.
“Mexico vs. Puerto Rico is history. There have been so many great fights between them. This is going to be another one added to that story. This is going to be a great night for boxing. If he’s dreaming about fighting me, that’s perfect. He’s got it. Dreams coming true for him, but it’s going to hurt.”
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
