Terence Crawford and Turki Alalshikh are pushing for a big fight with Canelo Alvarez, but Alalshikh intends on keeping Crawford busy no matter what.
Turki Alalshikh and his Riyadh Season banner have made an immediate splash in the sport of boxing with its influx of cash to make some of the biggest fights that fans want to see. That, however, doesn’t necessarily guarantee that they’ll be able to deliver everything desired.
Alalshikh has taken a particular interest in Terence Crawford and says he wants to get him the big fights that he deserves, adding that it’s a shame we haven’t had the chance to see more of those including Crawford during his prime years as he’s one of the best talents of the last 20 years. In that sense Alalshikh believes we could’ve had at least five more Crawford fights over the last four years.
The past, however, is the past. So Alalshikh looks towards making the most of the present and future, and for Crawford his ultimate legacy fight is one against Canelo Alvarez. Canelo hasn’t been particularly keen on making a Crawford fight, seeing it as a lose/lose proposition given their size disparity but Alalshikh says he’s willing to put the money up to appease Canelo so long as it’s within the realm of reason.
“I will give Canelo what I think is a fair price,” Alalshikh said. “If he accepts it, he deals directly with me to finish the deal. I don’t want anyone in the middle. I guaranteed Crawford a big fight, I want Canelo for Crawford and Crawford wants Canelo. But if Canelo is crazy [with his financial demands] I will still guarantee Crawford any fight he wants.”
If Canelo and Alalshikh cannot come to an understand with regards to Crawford, Alalshikh will continue to bankroll Crawford’s foreseeable future, mentioning that he wouldn’t mind seeing Crawford face Tim Tszyu, even with Tszyu coming off a loss under unfortunate circumstances. There’s also the potential for someone like Sebastian Fundora, Vergil Ortiz, or even perhaps a fight against Jaron Ennis as alternative options.
Whatever may end up being the case, Alalshikh intends on keep Crawford on an active schedule for this last stretch of his career.
