RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – MAY 03: Terence Crawford, Turki Al-Sheikh and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (L-R) … More
Canelo Alvarez did his part, though it wasn’t all that exciting. He defeated William Scull to regain his undisputed super middleweight title, and that secured the megafight with Terence Crawford.
Boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh brought Crawford into the ring after the final decision was read, and the two icons engaged in a stare down. It was highly respectful, and the date and location were confirmed.
The two boxing legends are set to tangle for the undisputed super middleweight title on September 12 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. All of the details were announced and confirmed moments after Canelo’s win in Riyadh–including the fact that the fight will be the first event promoted by Alalshikh and Dana White’s TKO group.
The TV platform hasn’t been announced, but it could be roped into the UFC’s new rights deal.
With just over four months to prepare, Canelo will likely have a short break before heading into training camp for his meeting with Crawford. The latter last fought in August 2024, when he earned a unanimous decision win over Israil Madrimov.
Thus, Crawford will be dealing with a year-long layoff as he moves toward the biggest challenge of his career. Crawford’s current world title is at 154 pounds. He will also be moving up two weight classes to challenge the only other active fighter with a résumé on the same level as his own.
The fight will be a spectacular event, and Alalshikh will do everything within his power to make it a spectacle. The undercard isn’t set, but fans are surely hoping it delivers more than what we’ve seen the last two days from Alalshikh’s events.
On Friday in Times Square, as a part of the Fatal Fury boxing takeover weekend, we saw Teofimo Lopez win a lopsided but uneventful unanimous decision over Arnold Barboza.
Devin Haney followed that up with an even more boring unanimous decision win over Jose Ramirez, and the final fight saw Rolly Romero drop and upset Ryan Garcia in a mostly dull unanimous decision.
To be fair, the undercard of Canelo-Scull had some nice fights. However, the main event didn’t deliver. Some blamed Scull for his game plan based on elusiveness. Others took Canelo to task for his unwillingness to chase Scull down for the scrap everyone hoped to see.
In the end, it’s boxing and styles make fights.
I don’t fault either man. You fight to win and fighters should use any tactics within the rule set to gain victory. That said, some fights just aren’t as entertaining, and Canelo-Scull was one of those fights.
The hope is that Canelo-Crawford and the attached undercard will live up to the hype.
On Sunday, Naoya Inoue takes on Ramon Cardenas in a fight that will hopefully salvage the weekend for boxing fans who were hoping for an excellent three-day stretch of high-profile fights.
Be on the lookout for coverage of that fight through Sunday, similarly to the live account of Canelo-Scull and the Garcia-Romero cards.