Turki Alalshikh is sponsoring the UFC 306 event on September 14th at the Sphere in Las Vegas, which will be held on the same night as Canelo Alvarez’s fight against Edgar Berlanga at the T-Mobile Arena.
Canelo won’t be happy to hear Turki plans to sponsor the UFC 306 event, which would stymie his scheduled event on the same night.
Turki’s Bold Prediction: “We Will Eat Him”
Turki told ESPN that his sponsored UFC 306 event on September 14th will “eat” Canelo’s fight card on the same night against Berlanga.
It’s unclear why Turki is taking a combative stance with Canelo for the September 14th date, especially when he’s someone that he wants for an event next year. If Canelo had done something to Turki, I could have understood his desire to outcompete his event on September 14th.
Did Canelo do something to set Turki off? He’s helping out Turki’s good friend, promoter Eddie Hearn, by fighting his Matchroom fighter, Edgar Berlanga.
Turki says he still wants to make a fight between Canelo and Terence Crawford and give Alvarez a “fair price.” If you’re Canelo, you’re probably thinking, ‘$100 million is a fair price for a fight I stand to gain nothing from.’ Canelo would be helping out Turki’s good friend, Crawford, but he doesn’t owe him anything.
Crawford could help Canelo by at least giving him a little cover from the backlash he’ll receive by proving himself at 168 against David Benavidez.
Alalshikh says that if Canelo asks for too much money, he’ll get Crawford any fighter he desires. However, Crawford only wants Canelo. That’s it. He doesn’t want to fight Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, and there’s no one popular in any of the other weight classes that Crawford has any interest in facing before hanging up his gloves.
Crawford can already get any fighter he wants, but he’s fixated on Canelo, the elusive one that only Turki has a chance of getting. The reality is Turki’s getting off on the wrong foot with Canelo if he wants him to agree to fight Crawford.
Whatever sweet deal that Turki offers Canelo to fight Crawford, it won’t be as good when you factor in the money he’s losing due to his Berlanga event being crippled by the UFC 306 card.
Crawford Only Wants Canelo
There is no one else that Crawford wants to fight, but Canelo and it’s understandable why. It’s the combination of money and legacy for Crawford. He gets a big payday and the chance to cement his legacy.
“I’ll give Canelo what I think is a fair price. If he accepts it, he deals directly with me to finish the deal,” said Turki Alalshikh to Mike Coppinger on X about his desire to make a fight between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford.
“I don’t want anyone in the middle. “We will eat him, said Turki about his UFC 306 event getting the better of Canelo’s on September 14th.
“I guaranteed Crawford a big fight. I want Canelo for Crawford, and Crawford wants Canelo,” Turki continued. “But if Canelo is crazy [asking for too much money], I will still guarantee Crawford any fight he wants.”
It would be interesting to know what kind of money Turki feels would be a “fair price” for Canelo because he’s already done quite well in past fights. Given Canelo stands to gain nothing from the fight and won’t receive any credit for beating Crawford, it would have to be an enormous payday for it to be worthwhile.
Whatever price that Canelo has for a match against David Benavidez, it would make sense for him to want similar dough for a fight against Crawford there’s no gain from that match.
The truth is, Canelo would be better off fighting Benavidez because he would receive credit for winning, and fans wouldn’t trash him if he lost.
Options for Crawford if Canelo Prices himself out
Jaron ‘Boot’ Ennis
David Benavidez
David Morrell
If Crawford feels brave enough to fight Canelo, he shouldn’t have any qualms about facing David Benavidez or David Morrell. They’re old like Canelo or super popular, but Crawford would gain much attention by fighting either. If he loses to them, he will have a built-in excuse. He could blame it on their size, youth, and power.
Fans would be eager to see Crawford jump in the ring with Artur Beterbiev or Dmitry Bivol, but he’s not going to do that. If Crawford can’t get the Canelo fight, he’ll choose a non-risky opponent he’s confident of beating, like Sebastian Fundora.
If Crawford still wants a fight against Fundora, Turki could easily set up that match as an alternative option. However, the public would not be super excited to see that fight.
Fundora was knocked out last year by Brian Mendoza, and some believe the only reason he defeated Tim Tszyu last March was the terrible cut he received during the contest. If Turki is willing to pay Crawford huge money to fight Fundora, he’ll likely take that one rather than face a risky guy like Boots Ennis, Benavidez, or Morrell.
Crawford said he wanted to fight Fundora when he moved up to 154, but he opted to face Errol Spence instead. Crawford then went with his second option, Israil Madrimov.
Assuming Canelo rejects Turkis’s “fair deal” for a fight against Crawford, the Nebraska native will have to fight risky against one of the killers if he wants to earn the mega-money.
If Canelo is salty about his Berlanga event being sabotaged due to competition from the UFC 306 on September 14th, why would he want to help Turki out with a fight against Crawford? Canelo has already said he’s not interested in fighting Crawford, and he’s not likely to change his mind unless he’s offered insane money.
Turki will need to offer Canelo a lot of money if he wants him to agree to fight Crawford because it’s horrible for Canelo. Crawford will follow the Floyd Mayweather Jr. blueprint by jabbing, moving, and holding all night.
He’ll stifle Canelo’s offense and make it ugly to watch. Crawford will use a variation of Mayweather and Erislandy Lara. Canelo will be trying to win rounds based on his power shots, but Crawford will make it difficult by jabbing and moving.
It’ll be boring to watch, and the judges will have to decide whether to give Crawford the rounds based on his jabbing or focus on Canelo’s cleaner landing shots. Either way, it’ll be controversial, and there will be a lot of bad blood.
Canelo would be better off focusing on fighting guys from the 168-lb division rather than helping out Crawford. If he wants the fight with Canelo, he should move up and earn the fight the old-fashioned way.
Crawford is the only one who gains anything from fighting Canelo. It’s a one-way street, helping Crawford because Canelo’s legacy is ruined if he wins. But even if Crawford is competitive, it hurts Canelo’s legacy.
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