What will it take for two-division undisputed champion Terence Crawford to achieve “another milestone for greatness”? During the in-ring interview, after his unanimous decision win over Israil Madrimov last Saturday, he revealed his motivation to fight unified super-middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez. A matchup with the iconic Mexican fighter would mean the biggest paycheck of his life, and a monumental conclusion to his glorious career. But Canelo Alvarez isn’t in a rush. The most sought-after matchmaker in boxing, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh‘s offer to ‘Cinnamon’ for the Crawford fight, has been snubbed. Alvarez made his intentions clear – he is the one who calls the shots!
Meanwhile, HE is not willing to wait around for Canelo Alvarez and will be going forward with other lucrative fight offers for the four-division champion Crawford. Amidst the clash of egos between Alvarez and HE Turki Alalshikh, former Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe has expressed his happiness for Crawford as he acknowledged the master plan from the figurehead of the Riyadh season.
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Crawford has been boxing professionally for sixteen years now. Although he has elite fighters in his win column, some would say the fanfare around him isn’t what you expect for one of the P4P greats. This is where His Excellency comes to make things right in boxing. “I will be focusing for the US market with bigger fights, especially for the legend Crawford, ” HE Turki Alalshikh stated.
Do you agree with Mayweather Promotions CEO backing Terence Crawford over Canelo Alvarez?
Depends on the circumstances
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Do you think Eddie Hearn will ruin Erislandy Alvarez’s career?
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What do you think is the real reason behind Kellie Harrington’s retirement?
Pursuing new opportunities
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Can Vergil Ortiz Jr. ever defeat Terence Crawford in the ring?
Only if Crawford has an off day
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However, the big fights for Terence Crawford will not include the Canelo Alvarez fight, HE clarified. Nonetheless, Leonard Ellerbe is certain that the upcoming plans for Crawford will be a “game changer”. “Really happy for Crawford, this is the kind of push he needed to close out his career and get these big opportunities he wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. Game changer for TC!” Ellerbe wrote on X.
Really happy for Crawford, this is the kind of push he needed to close out his career and get these big opportunities he wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. Game changer for TC! https://t.co/mZCDxhj2Dt
— Leonard Ellerbe (@LEllerbe) August 7, 2024
HE is moving away from Canelo Alvarez after the face of boxing refused offers for a Bud Crawford match. “He needs to do it my way, not his way,” Alvarez said during the press meet for his Edgar Berlanga fight on September 14. “Like I said before, I’m not asking for that fight, they want to make that fight because it’s a payday but I don’t want that fight. My response to Turki is this… I’m not going to talk about any other fight. I’m focused 100% on this fight (Berlanga fight). I don’t like the way he talk and I’m in this position if he wants to work with me it is in my way.”
Meanwhile, the Saudi Arabian royalty hit back at Canelo Alvarez, claiming that he has been looking for “easy fights” since his defeat to light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol. He indirectly hinted that Canelo Alvarez doesn’t fit in his plans as he only targets “big fights at fair prices”. All things considered, HE wrote on X, “Just wrapped up an important meeting now with my team, planning for the upcoming fights that we will make for 2024-2025. I decided to disregard the Canelo fight, as I don’t want it anymore. “
Meanwhile, Canelo has nominated another pugilist to fight Terence Cawford, as he continues to put an astronomical figure on matchups with elite contenders.
Over to you, Teofimo Lopez!Canelo very well knows that he is the A-side in the boxing game. Likewise, he has put a ginormous price tag of $150 million, and $200 million for bouts with top-notch contenders like Terence Crawford and David Benavidez respectively. Amidst the raging debate about Canelo ducking elite-level contenders by pricing himself out of these fights, the 34-year-old Mexican fighter has urged Crawford to face Teofimo Lopez instead in his upcoming bout.
With the Honduran-American fighter by his side at his press event in New York, Alvarez said, “Crawford needs to fight Teofimo first. I think Teofimo deserve more than me (Crawford fight)”.
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via Getty
After Crawford’s hard-fought win against Madrimov, Lopez, who was there ringside to witness the event, told Fight Hub TV, “I thought the age would start catching up at like 38, but it happened at 36.”
Furthermore, taking to X, he challenged the 36-year-old fighter from Nebraska to a bout, pointing out mockingly that the sought-after Canelo fight might not happen for him. “Congratulations @terencecrawford, you F’d up yo bag! So who will it be ME OR @JaronEnnis #CaneloGoByeBye,” Lopez wrote on X.
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“The Takeover” has earlier expressed his desire to move two weight classes, and challenge the current WBA super-welterweight champion at 154. It must be noted that Crawford called the 27-year-old fighter “trash” when he sat down with ESPN’s SportsCenter to do a word association game on boxers.
Now that Canelo Alvarez is out of the picture, who do you think Terence Crawford should fight next? Let us know in the comment section below.
Source : EssentiallySports