From ‘what if’ to ‘it’s on’: Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence Crawford kickoff press conference rocks Riyadh

The time has come as boxing fans from around the world gear up for what many are calling “The fight of the century,” between Terence “Bud” Crawford and Saul “Canelo” Álvarez.

Before we run through the turnstiles, we must first crawl, as Crawford and Álvarez have officially turned a “What if” into an “It’s on” as their first of three press conferences was held on Friday (June 20) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The press conference took place at Boulevard City, which has hosted some of the biggest fights in recent memory.

The atmosphere was electric as the fighters were introduced, with Crawford taking the stage first to a warm welcome.

Crawford is a four-division world champion and the first man to become undisputed in two different weight classes.

The pound-for-pound superstar is moving up two weight classes, accumulating 14 pounds from 154 to 168-pound weight class to challenge Álvarez for the Undisputed Super Middleweight championship.

The crowd erupted as Álvarez was introduced. He is one of the hardest hitters in the entire boxing world.

Álvarez is a four-division world champion and future Hall of Famer, known for his finishing ability in the ring.

The press conference also featured remarks from His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, who took a seat at the table where Álvarez was sitting.

“I don’t know why they sat me here as I want to be on the side of Crawford,” said Alalshikh. “I want to thank the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, for all his support. This is the beginning of a great relationship between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Netflix.”

As the press conference continued, both fighters expressed their excitement for the upcoming bout.

Boxing historians say the fight between Crawford and Álvarez resembles those of the four kings from the 1980s, particularly between “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler and “Sugar” Ray Leonard.

“Crawford is coming into this fight as a two-time undisputed champion with a zero on his record of losing.

“He dreamed of being a three-time undisputed champion. The second person to achieve that was Canelo, who was fighting everyone. Canelo, over the last 20 years, has been in the ring and fights everyone. I don’t think Canelo would give Crawford a chance to beat him, especially if Crawford goes two weight classes up.

It would be something Canelo doesn’t want on his record. This will be one of the best fights in the last at least 10 years."

Turki Alalshikh

To sweeten the pot, Alalshikh said that he is offering a knockout bonus in the title bout to stop the Tom & Jerry-style fights.

Alalshikh has invested heavily in boxing BY bringing some of the biggest fights to Saudi Arabia and securing deals with major promoters and fighters in recent years.

He said he aims to revitalize the sport of boxing by arranging fights that were previously difficult to make and by fostering a more collaborative environment among promoters.

Alalshikh has partnered with TKO Group Holdings (which includes UFC and WWE) to create a new boxing promotion, with Dana White and Nick Khan leading the executive team, which is why he was featured heavily during Friday’s press conference.

Alalshikh had numerous options to showcase this mega-fight, but he chose Netflix.

“First, Netflix is a big platform; second, if you ask about the numbers of the subscribers and the pay-per-view, ‘Oh uh let’s see the record in that time in 2015, in 2013 the internet and the piracy was not like now.’

Now is the best option to go with the big platform, and I think this fight we will have a big record around the world, and we will show the world what is real boxing, especially Netflix. We will show them what is the real boxing."

Turki Alalshikh

With all of the pomp and circumstance out of the way, the attention turned back to the fighters as Álvarez returned to Saudi Arabia, where he recently dethroned IBF champion William Scull.

With the victory, Álvarez collected the IBF belt to go along with his WBA, WBC, and WBO championships, which set up the bout with Crawford.

“You think that William Scull was a fight?” asked Álvarez. “No, I don’t think so. That’s deception to me because you know I come to fight, but you need to have both fighters think the same, right, and a little deception, but we win. That’s all that matters, and we are focused 100% on this fight in this fight because you know this fight is big, and for me, making history is my goal my whole life, so I’m very excited for this fight.”

The mega-fight will not be Crawford’s first under the Riyadh Season banner as he’s coming off a victory over Israil Madrimov by unanimous decision to win the WBA Super Welterweight championship on Aug. 3, 2024.

“I thought my fight was a clear-cut victory; it may not have been what the fans are used to seeing, being that I was on a KO streak, so I’m cool with my performance and my victory, and I’m looking to be bigger and better in this next one,” said Crawford.

Alalshikh mentioned how he was not going for the Tom & Jerry style of fights, where one person is running the majority of the time while the other is the aggressor.

Crawford said he doesn’t plan on being Jerry as he’s moving up two weight classes, even though, to most, it would not be smart for him to stand in front of Álvarez, who is the naturally bigger fighter.

Álvarez will be the more powerful fighter in the bout, so hammering it out with him would not be the brightest idea, as he is a knockout artist.

Expect Crawford to be balanced in the fight with his elusiveness against Álvarez.

“However, I got to fight; I’m going to win, simple as that. I’m not going to let somebody else force me or tell me how to fight when I’ve been fighting my whole life, you know. I won’t be running, I could tell you that, but I will be doing a lot of touching,” Crawford said.

Crawford believes that Álvarez has holes in his game, which is why he has been calling Álvarez out over the years; otherwise, he wouldn’t be jumping up multiple weight classes.

Even Michigan native Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Jr., blemished Álvarez’s record back in 2013.

“Well, listen, I called Canelo out because, like I said, he’s the last great fighter amongst the era that surpassed us, you know, the Floyd’s, the Pacquiao’s, the De La Hoya’s. We both came up in that era, and he was right there with those fighters, and he got the chance to fight the Miguel Cotto’s, the Floyd Mayweather’s, and you know the Kovalev’s and Triple G’s. I wasn’t able to get those mega-fights, you know, so this is my mega-fight. This is my moment, and that’s the reason why I want to fight an all-time great like Canelo.”

Terence Crawford

Álvarez said Crawford was a good boxer, but he was no “Canelo.” He said he could do things that Crawford was unable to do in the ring.

“Don’t get me wrong; he’s a great fighter, but like I said, ‘He’s no Canelo.’ Obviously, I’ve been in this situation for a long time, and I have the experience. They only focus on my power, but I have more than that, and I think this fight is going to be one of my best fights in my history, in my record, and I’m very excited. I’m motivated because this is all about me wanting to make history.”

Saul “Canelo” Álvarez

Álvarez dodged fighting Crawford in years past because he said it didn’t interest him. He said he had everything to lose and nothing to gain.

Álvarez spoke about why he chose to agree to the bout now and how a loss could potentially damage his brand.

“He’s not going to beat me, don’t worry about it; he’s not going to beat me, don’t worry about it. I think this fight is going to be in the books of the history of boxing for sure, that’s for sure,” Álvarez said.

That answer drew a reaction from Crawford, who said, “For sure them belts coming with me; they coming home with me. I’m telling you.”

“You can see it, but you know it’s going to be difficult,” Álvarez said.

“I’m taking them, and ain’t nothing you going to be able to do about it come fight night,” Crawford said.

“I know Turki is in your corner, but I promise you, look, it’s going to be very difficult. Turki’s going to be so mad that day. Believe me,” Álvarez said.

“I see, you see, I’m different than the other ones,” Crawford said.

“I see you too,” Álvarez said. “You’re not different. You’re nothing different.”

Crawford has bulked up tremendously since we last saw him, but people are questioning if he could knock out Álvarez come Sept. 13.

“Man, listen, like I said before, any fighter can be knocked out. Canelo has a granite chin; he’s tough and durable. We’ve seen him get hurt a couple of times, but not to the point where you know it’s not respected. However, given the right circumstances, anybody can get knocked out.”

Terence Crawford

Crawford said that he would be the first male boxer to hold the titles of three-weight, undisputed world champion, and he has a lot to lose in this fight.

Rick Reno of Ring Magazine hit the stage with a record-breaking $188,000 belt on the line on Sept. 13, and it’s a beauty.

“For a mega fight of this magnitude, we wanted to create an exclusive mega belt so we spoke to numerous companies all over the world and eventually settled on a top-tier company from the UK, this company often gets commissioned to create items for kings for queens jewelry high-end metals for the British Army and for the belt that Canelo has over there we spent $100,000, for this belt we upped the ante to $140,000 this is by far the most expensive Ring magazine belt ever created.”

Rick Reno of Ring Magazine

“This is a fight that’s been marinating for years,” Crawford said. “I’ve been preparing my whole life for this moment.”

Álvarez acknowledged the significance of the fight, saying, “This is all about making history.”

The media had the opportunity to ask questions, with one reporter noting the importance of Saudi Arabia in the boxing world.

“This fight is the biggest, and we assist to have it in America to go worldwide,” His Excellency responded.

As the press conference concluded, the fighters faced off for the first staredown, setting the stage for the historic showdown on Sept. 13 in Las Vegas.

On Sunday, June 22, both fighters will fly to New York City for the second press event at the Fanatics Fest, before heading to Las Vegas for the final press conference on June 27.

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