A potential clash between Terence Crawford and Gennadiy Golovkin failed to get off the ground before the fight had a chance to gather pace.
The internet rumor mill recently pulled a rabbit out of a hat with reports that Turki Alalshikh was attempting to pit Crawford against Golovkin in the coming months. Looking at the reports, it could simply have been a case of Golovkin’s name being plucked out of thin air due to his rivalry with Canelo Alvarez.
Alalshikh made no secret of his desire to make Canelo vs. Crawford until the Mexican superstar blew him off.
“If he’s smart, he’ll accept the deal,” Alalshikh said at Crawford vs Madrimov, which World Boxing News attended at the BMO Stadium.
Reacting to Alalshikh, Canelo told WBN and other reporters in LA, “I don’t like the way he talks [about boxing]. I don’t ask for any fight. If he wants to fight me with other guys, he must do it my way.”
He added, “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.’
“But I don’t like the way he talks. If he wants to work with me, it’s my way. I don’t need it. It’s not the way to approach me.”
Alalshikh then burned his bridges to Canelo by going public with his response. His Excellency stated, “I heard what Canelo said that he respects me but doesn’t like how we do business. As for him respecting me, it doesn’t matter to me if he does or not. As for how 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.”
Moving on, Alalshikh focuses on Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois and Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol, both of which have a distinctly British flavor. Alalshikh’s path to winning over the United States fans seems far more treacherous, which is why fights around baselessly like Crawford vs Golokvin.
The Riyadh Season Head of Sports denied the rumors by stating there was ‘no truth’ to the negotiations, which seemed far-fetched.
Golovkin is currently undertaking a role helping Kazakhstan boxers forge a path in the amateur ranks and preparing them to turn professional. ‘GGG’ hasn’t fought for two years, ironically losing his third fight to Canelo and looking like a shell of his former self.
To come out of retirement after two years, when not looking his best, to face the Pound for Pound number one in Crawford [no matter the weight difference] would be one of the most unlikely comebacks ever witnessed. Indeed, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for Alalshikh to dream up the idea, but fan reaction would dictate the fight wouldn’t get over the first hurdle.
For now. Crawford will have to focus on finding a dance partner at 154, with the winner of Sebastian Fundora vs. Errol Spence a far more realistic proposition in the first half of 2025.
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.
