Huge boxing matches between Canelo Alvarez, Terence Crawford, Gervonta Davis, and Naoya Inoue now have Saudi Arabian backing.
Chairman Turki Alalshikh declared pitting Canelo against Crawford and Davis versus Inoue, with both Pound-for-Pound mega-bouts not needing to be staged in the Middle East.
“I want this fight. And we are thinking of doing it in America because we want it huge,” said Turki to the MMA Hours in his attempts to put Canelo vs Crawford on despite its status as a fantasy fight.
Asked about what has been a mythical match-up between lightweight Davis and super bantamweight king Inoue, Alalshikh responded: “If they reach the right weight and give us the right proposal, we can deliver it.”
Turki Alalshikh joins us now on #TheMMAHour
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The pledge” by Riyadh Season to put its might behind two fights that seemed a million miles apart, especially regarding weight, places them a step closer. As everyone knows, money talks, and the Saudis have lots of it to make their sporting dreams become reality.
Despite Canelo ruling out facing Crawford, the allure of a potential $50 million paycheck from Saudi Arabia without moving out of Las Vegas would undoubtedly be too much to turn down.
Davis vs. Inoue may prove a little trickier due to the latter packing out stadiums in Japan. It could be a case of another Nevada date after Alalshikh confirmed he has no plans to replace boxing’s capital but instead wants to embrace it.
Both fights remain highly unlikely ever to make it over the line. But with Alalshikh on the case, nothing ever seems to be impossible.
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.
