- A super fight between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford had been planned
- Turki Alalshikh debunked fight rumors in explosive social media post
Saudi Arabian boxing boss Turki Alalshikh has accused Canelo Alvarez of “looking for easier fights” and “wasting our time” after the Mexican superstar demanded £118million to fight Terence Crawford.
Speculations about a superfight between Alvarez and Crawford increased after the latter dethroned Israil Madrimov to claim the WBA super welterweight and vacant WBO world titles.
Alalshikh even extended an offer to Alvarez’s camp on the same day of Crawford’s fight against Madrimov, such was his desire to stage the fight.
It would have taken an astronomical sum to achieve this, although Alvarez insisted on a Interview with FightHype I would fight Crawford “if the money is right” – it would have cost an astronomical sum.
And it seems that Alvarez’s exorbitant financial request made Alalshikh back out of the fight.
Turki Alalshikh is no longer interested in facing Canelo Alvarez against Terence Crawford
Alvarez has a super middleweight title fight against Edgar Berlanga to go through first.
‘I decided to rule out the fight with Canelo because I don’t want it anymore’ Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, wrote on the 10th.
Alvarez, who defends his WBA, WBC and WBO super middleweight titles against Edgar Berlanga on Sept. 14, responded by stating that he “didn’t really care” about facing Crawford anyway.
“I’m fine with what I do,” Alvarez told FightHype.
“I don’t need that kind of stuff. I’m not looking for that kind of fight. If they want to fight, that’s fine, it’s my way, not theirs.”
Alvarez’s statement prompted a heated response from Alalshikh, who sensationally claimed that the Mexican is only interested in “making easy fights for show.”
‘I heard what Canelo said, that he respects me but he doesn’t like the way we do business’ Alalshikh wrote in X.
-As for whether he respects me, I don’t care whether he does or not.
‘As for my way of doing business, I know why he doesn’t like it, because I only look for 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. Plus, I’m not the one who’s afraid of fighting Benavidez or Crawford.
“So I knew he was wasting our time and making excuses for huge amounts of money that can’t be paid. So I’m on my way to making big fights that serve the world of boxing, and he’s on his way to making easy fights that only serve the show.”
Crawford entered the super welterweight division with a bang after dethroning Madrimov
Alvarez was criticized by Alalshikh for requesting a staggering nine-figure sum to fight Crawford.
Alalshikh took to social media to deliver a blunt verdict on what he thought about Alvarez.
However, Ortiz Jr must first beat Serhii Bohachuk on August 10 when they meet for the interim WBC super welterweight title. Alalshikh also stated that Texan knockout artist Vergil Ortiz Jr would get the next shot against Crawford if Alvarez had not accepted the fight.
Alalshikh has quickly catapulted himself into one of the biggest names in boxing after shelling out millions to stage mega fights in Saudi Arabia.
The nation has already hosted Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou, Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, as well as the five-on-five battle between Matchroom and Queensberry.