Promoter Eddie Hearn states that the relationship between His Excellency Turki Alalshikh and Canelo Alvarez can be repaired so they can work together for a big fight in the future.
Hearn points out that Canelo’s decision to delay discussing a mega-fight against Terence Crawford until after his September 14th defense against Edgar Berlanga meant that a Canelo-Crawford fight couldn’t happen in February.
Crawford will have to fight someone else, like Vergil Ortiz Jr., or preferably a rematch with former WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov. Given the difficulties Crawford, 36, had against the heavy-handed Madrimov in their fight on August 3rd, he’ll likely go toward an easier fight against the slugger Vergil Jr.
Vergil took a beating against Serhi Bohachuk last weekend, and he might not be ready to fight Crawford before the end of the year.
Crawford’s Pride Could Cost Him the Canelo Fight
Whether Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) and Turki can agree on the money to fight against Crawford is unclear. If the Mexican superstar Canelo wants $150 million+ for that match, it might break the bank because Crawford will want an absurd number, too, and he doesn’t rate it after his poor performance against Madrimov.
Terence would need to take the Canelo fight on discount terms, and he won’t do that. He has too much pride, which will sink his chances of getting that golden parachute.
Crawford looked average against Madrimov. It was like watching an amateur fighter facing a professional. Madrimov landed the bigger punches in the fight and appeared to get the better of Crawford. The fight was similar to the Canelo vs. Erislandy Lara contest in 2014.
Like Crawford, Lara mostly jabbed, fighting on the outside, whereas Canelo focused on landing power shots. Not surprisingly, the judges gave Canelo the win because of the harder punches he landed. Madrimov was like Canelo, but the judges gave it to the jabber Crawford. Would they have done that if Crawford weren’t more popular than Madrimov? The answer is obvious.
Canelo’s Focus on Berlanga
“For one reason or another, Canelo didn’t want to have those conversations. Then the frustration of, ‘We can make the deal now,’” said Eddie Hearn to the Matchroom Boxing YouTube channel about Canelo Alvarez not interested in discussing a fight against Terence Crawford until after he defends against Edgar Berlanga on September 14th.
You can’t blame Canelo for not wanting to discuss putting a fight together with Crawford because he’s got a tough fight ahead of him against the 27-year-old Berlanga, who is essentially a light heavyweight. He’s another David Benavidez type of fighter who melts to 168 to take advantage of his size.
Berlanga is huge for the super middleweight division, and he can punch. Canelo had problems with his last opponent, Jaime Munguia, taking many hard shots during that fight last May.
Berlanga is the same type of fighter but with more brute strength. With his power and primitive fighting style, he’s like a Neanderthal man. His power and ability to break down his prey would have made him perfect during the Stone Age.
I could see Berlanga jumping on the back of a Whooly Mammoth during a hunt. Due to his size and strength, Berlanga won’t be easy for Canelo.
“I wasn’t the way Canelo wanted to do that deal. He wanted to wait until after the Berlanga fight, which, frustratingly for His Excellency, kills the Crawford fight for February because he wants to get that fight made now,” said Hearn on the Canelo vs. Crawford mega-fight.
Waiting Game for Crawford
It shouldn’t be the end of the world for Crawford if he has to wait until the second half of 2025 for a fight against Canelo. If he’s that desperate to fight Canelo, he’ll wait and fight someone good to show fans he would have a chance against the Mexican star. Right now, fans’ impression of Crawford is that he’s desperate to fight Canelo for the payday he’ll get, and it doesn’t matter if he loses. He just wants the money he’ll get.
Crawford should think about fighting one of the talents next to prepare himself for Canelo:
– Sebastian Fundora
– David Morrell
– David Benavidez
– Janibek Alimkhanuly
– Serhii Bohachuk
– Artur Beterbiev
“I know that His Excellency respects Canelo Alvarez. Everyone respects him as a fighter, and he’s a good man,” said Hearn when asked if the relationship between Turki Alalshikh and Canelo could be repaired.
“The way that Turki is operating and the way that he’s doing business is incredible for boxing. So, those two, at some point, will work together, but only in the fights that His Excellency deems to be the mega-fights.”
Canelo would entertain the fight with Crawford, but it’s got to be worthwhile for him because it’s not one where he will come off well. It’s an avenue for Crawford to become a star, whereas Canelo gets nothing from it.
Crawford will get all the praise from this fight unless Canelo destroys him in the early rounds, and that’s unlikely to happen. This is a fight where Crawford will look like 24k gold no matter how the match ends. As long Crawford doesn’t get wiped out by Canelo like Amir Khan did, he’ll receive lavish praise from fans.
“You got two very powerful people there,” said Hearn. “You got one guy in Canelo Alvarez, who likes to make his own decisions, his own thing in his own time, and you’ve got another player in His Excellency, who just wants to make the biggest fights now. Not in three months. Now marination. Now.
“Obviously, he’ll be as frustrated as some fight fans that certain fights don’t get made. His mission is to make sure they do,” said Hearn.
Canelo-Crawford can be made as long as Canelo doesn’t ask for an insane number and Crawford doesn’t do the same. Crawford could be the real problem because his wins over Madrimov and Errol Spence have put ideas into his head, making him think he’s a draw.
The negotiations need to go quickly because Canelo won’t have time to spend negotiating a deal with Crawford, a hard bargainer.
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