Turki Alalshikh destroyed any chances of ever working with Canelo Alvarez after an astonishing outburst aimed at the Mexican superstar.
The Saudi Arabian boxing figure, who has pushed himself to the top of the matchmaking world with significant funding from the Crown Prince, fired back after Canelo ruled out working together on terms other than his own.
Canelo held a press conference in Beverly Hills for his September 14 clash with Edgar Berlanga, which World Boxing News attended. However, when asked about a possible offer from Alalshikh to face Terence Crawford, Canelo stated he wasn’t impressed by His Excellency.
“My response to Turki is this: Yesterday, they texted me and said, ‘We can talk about the fight in February with Crawford. They text me, and I say, ‘Look, I don’t want to talk about any other fight. I’m focused on this fight.’
“I don’t like the way he talks [about boxing]. If he wants to work with me, it’s my way. I don’t need it. It’s not the way to approach me.
Once the dust had settled, Alalshikh responded publicly, accusing Canelo of consistently taking easy fights. The message all but ends any opportunity Alalshikh had of overseeing a Canelo event in the future.
Turki Alalshikh makes Canelo accusations
“I heard what Canelo said that he respects me but doesn’t like the way we do business. As for him respecting me, it doesn’t matter to me if he does or not. As for the way I do business, I know why he doesn’t like it, because I only target big fights at fair prices, so of course anyone who likes easy fights won’t like that.
“And I know how he feels after losing to Bivol, so he’s been looking for easier fights ever since. Also, I’m not the one who’s afraid of fighting [David] Benavidez or Crawford. Therefore, I knew he was wasting our time and making excuses with big amounts of money [$200 million] that can’t be paid.
“So I’m continuing my way to make big fights that serve the boxing world, and he’s on his way to making easy show-only fights,” concluded the Riyadh Season Head of Boxing.
Having already ruled out a Canelo fight following Terence Crawford’s performance against Israil Madrimov at 154 pounds, the only headliner Alalshikh could attempt would have been the Benavidez blockbuster.
However, with Benavidez moving up to 175 and looking at alternative targets, the possibility of that encounter is already off the table. That leaves few options for Alalshikh to work with Canelo anyway.
As things stand, Canelo is looking at Chris Eubank Jr., Jermall Charlo, and fighters of a similar stature. With a guaranteed purse of $35 million per fight, no matter who he faces, Canelo is in the driving seat and won’t be swayed by anyone who seeks to control his opponents.
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.
