Talk about dangling a carrot for the Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford megafight. Turki Alalshikh, the deep-pocketed chairman of the General Entertainment Authority and president of the Saudi Boxing Federation, announced that he’ll give a bonus for a knockout when Alvarez puts his undisputed super middleweight championship on the line against Crawford on Sept. 13 in Las Vegas, live on Netflix.
Alalshikh revealed the KO bonus during Friday’s kickoff press conference in Saudi Arabia. Alalshikh lambasted “Tom & Jerry fights” where one fighter is “running around the ring and another fighter is chasing him.” Hence the bonus that will be installed for Canelo-Crawford and other upcoming fights he promotes.
Terence Crawford faces off against Canelo Alvarez during a press conference in Riyadh. (Photo by … More
“We will not have [Tom & Jerry fights] anymore,” Alalshikh said. “We will have in this fight and our next fights a bonus for a KO.”
Alalshikh did not disclose the dollar amount of the bonus, which is similar to performance bonuses that his promoting partner, UFC CEO Dana White, has implemented in his fight organization.
Meanwhile, both Canelo and Crawford said they’ll be fighting, not running. Here’s a look at the staredown:
“However I got to fight, I’m going to win,” said Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs), who has knocked out 11 of his past 12 opponents. “I’m not going to let someone else tell me how to fight when I’ve been doing that my whole life. I won’t be running. I can tell you that. But I will be doing a lot of touching.”
Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) said Crawford is “great fighter but he’s not Canelo” and cited his experience as his key to victory. “He’s not going to beat me,” Alvarez said. “Don’t worry about it… I’m a winner.”
Crawford will be jumping two weight classes, from 154 to 168 pounds and believes he’ll make history by winning all four major world title belts in a record third weight division. “For sure those belts are coming home with me,” Crawford said. “I’m taking them and ain’t nothing you can do about it come fight night.”
And if the KO bonus weren’t enough, the winner will take home a new Ring Magazine belt that cost $188,000 to produce. Here’s a look:
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