Terence Crawford has made it clear that his current goal in the sport is to fight Saul ‘Canelo‘ Alvarez.
The 36-year-old recently made the move from welter to super-welterweight to become a four-division world champion and take one step closer to super-middleweight where Canelo currently holds three of the four major belts.
Riyadh Season’s Turki Alalshikh had previously announced that an offer had been made to the Mexican but he promptly took it off the table days later, releasing a statement saying Alvarez was afraid of challenging himself against Crawford and David Benavidez.
In an interview with Charlie Parsons, he has now shed light on the communications.
“We were talking with Canelo for a long time, around four months to do a big fight with him. What bothered me was when he announced that he respects me but he doesn’t like what Riyadh Season is doing to boxing, after that I responded with what I responded and he sent an indirect message to me by someone and said ‘no I am respecting you but there was a situation between me and Eddie when we talk and I don’t like the way Eddie talking to me’. Then I said it is not my responsibility is something happen between you and someone else, why get me inside this.”
Alalshikh will not rule out making the fight in the future, something that may be revisited after Canelo’s September 14 fight with Edgar Berlanga.
“We want to do the big fights. My door is open to all the fighters, so let’s see, he sent to me an indirect message that he wants to connect after the fight, but I don’t know if this is real message or not. It is nothing personal it is business. I’d like to see the fight against Crawford, I’d like to see the fight against Benavidez.”
As for Crawford, Alalshikh feels that this challenge in particular may be the only fight that interests him at this stage in his career, believing that an offer to face Vergil Ortiz Jr in the super-welterweight ranks is set to be turned down.
“I don’t think Crawford will fight anyone except Canelo. This is my opinion. This is what I feel, but it is about him. We gave him an offer for [Vergil] Ortiz and I don’t know if he will take it or not … I think he only wants Canelo.”
The initial date proposed was for February 2025, so all eyes turn to Canelo’s next defence and what happens thereafter. He has previously stated he will consider any offer if the money is right.
