Turki Alalshikh’s UFC 306: Direct Challenge to Canelo Alvarez September 14

Turki Alalshikh is sponsoring the UFC 306 event on September 14 at the Sphere in Las Vegas, which will take place on the same night as the Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga fight at the T-Mobile Arena.

Canelo will not be happy to hear Turki is planning to sponsor the UFC 306 event, which would interfere with his scheduled event on the same night.

Turki’s Bold Prediction: “We’ll Eat Him Up”

Turki told ESPN that his UFC 306-sponsored event on Sept. 14 will “eat up” Canelo’s fight card in one night against Berlanga. Interestingly, Turki says he still wants a fight between Canelo and Terence Crawford and gives Alvarez “fair value.”

Alalshikh says that if Canelo asks for more money, he will get Crawford any fight he wants. However, Crawford only wants Canelo. That’s all. He doesn’t want to fight Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, and there’s nothing popular about any of the other weight classes Crawford is interested in facing before hanging up his gloves.

Crawford can still get any fight he wants, but his focus is on Canelo, who arguably only Turki has a chance to get. The truth is that Turki is getting off on the wrong foot with Canelo if he wants to agree to fight Crawford.

Whatever sweet deal Turki offers Canelo to fight Crawford, it won’t be good if you factor in the money he’s losing due to his Berlanga event being disqualified from the UFC 306 card.

Crawford Only Wants Canelo

There is no one else Crawford wants to fight, but Canelo and it is understandable why. It’s a combination of money and Crawford’s legacy. He gets a big payday and a chance to cement his legacy.

“I’ll give Canelo what I think is a fair price. If he agrees, he will face me directly to finish the deal,” said Turki Alalshikh speaking to Mike Coppinger on X about his desire to fight Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford.

“I don’t want anyone in there. “We’re going to eat him,” said Turki about his UFC 306 event that will defeat Canelo on September 14.

“I assured Crawford a big fight. I want Canelo from Crawford, and Crawford wants Canelo,” continued Turki. “But if Canelo is mad [asking for too much money]I will still guarantee Crawford any fight he wants.”

It would be interesting to know what kind of money Turki feels would be a “fair value” for Canelo because he has already done well in previous fights. Since Canelo won’t get anything out of this fight and won’t get credit for beating Crawford, it’s going to have to be a big payday to make it a success.

Whatever price Canelo has for a match with David Benavidez, it would make sense for him to demand the same amount of dough against Crawford there is no benefit to that matchup.

The truth is, Canelo would have been better off fighting Benavidez because he would have gotten credit for winning, and the fans wouldn’t have trashed him if he lost.

Crawford’s options if Canelo sells himself

Jaron ‘Boot’ Ennis
David Benavidez
David Morrell

If Crawford feels brave enough to fight Canelo, he shouldn’t have any doubts about facing David Benavidez or David Morrell. They are as old as Canelo or more famous, but Crawford could get more attention for fighting either. If he loses them, he will have a built-in excuse. He may question their size, youth and power.

Fans would love to see Crawford jump in the ring with Artur Beterbiev or Dmitry Bivol, but he won’t. If Crawford can’t get a Canelo fight, he’ll pick a less dangerous opponent he’s sure to beat, like Sebastian Fundora.

If Crawford still wants to fight Fundora, Turki could easily set up that match as another option. However, the public would not be very happy to see that fight.

Fundora was knocked out last year by Brian Mendoza, and some believe the only reason he beat Tim Tszyu last March was a bad cut he received during the tournament. If Turki is willing to pay Crawford big money to fight Fundora, he’ll probably take that one rather than face a dangerous guy like Boot Ennis, Benavidez, or Morrell.

Crawford said he wanted to fight Fundora when he moved up to 154, but chose to face Errol Spence instead. Crawford then went with his second choice, Israil Madrimov.

Assuming Canelo rejects Turkis’ “fair deal” to fight Crawford, the Nebraska native will have to fight one of the killers if he wants to get the big bucks.

If Canelo is salty about his Berlanga event being ruined by UFC 306 on September 14, why does he want to help Turki out by fighting Crawford? Canelo has already said that he is not interested in fighting Crawford, and he won’t be able to change his mind without paying crazy money.

Turki will need to give Canelo a lot of money if he wants to agree to fight Crawford because it is bad for Canelo. Crawford will follow the plan of Floyd Mayweather Jr. by beating, moving, and holding throughout the night.

He will shut down Canelo’s offense and make it bad to watch. Crawford will use variations of Mayweather and Erislandy Lara. Canelo will be trying to win rounds based on his power shots, but Crawford will make it difficult with jumping and movement.

It will be boring to watch, and the judges will have to decide whether to give Crawford rounds based on his performance or focus on Canelo’s clean shots. Either way, there will be arguments, and there will be a lot of bad blood.

Canelo would be better off focusing on fighting guys from the 168-lb division rather than helping Crawford. If he wants a fight with Canelo, he has to step up and win the fight the old fashioned way.

Crawford is the only one who gains anything by fighting Canelo. It’s a one-way street, which helps Crawford because Canelo’s legacy is ruined if he wins. But even if Crawford competes, it hurts Canelo’s legacy.