Canelo Alvarez is coming off the most forgettable fight of his career in the limelight, a lackluster unanimous decision win against William Scull last month.
A series of dull dances in the sport recently made fight financier Turki Alalshikh, head of Riyadh Season and chairman of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia, call for an end to “Tom and Jerry” fights.
The undisputed super middleweight king Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) concurs, and he’s anticipating that his
Sept. 13 superfight against
Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) will be anything but boring at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas
on Netflix. “I agree with Turki Alalshikh. People want to see good fights,” Alvarez told reporters during the press tour announcing his fight. “People come to spend money to see great fights and if the other fighter comes to run on the night and doesn't make a good fight, it's deceptional. [Alalshikh and I] talked after [the Scull fight] about that. It's very sad."
Alvarez and Scull broke the CompuBox record for the fewest combined punches thrown (445) in a 12-round fight since the company began tracking fights 40 years ago, largely due to Scull’s lack of willingness to engage.
To assist the matter of letting the fists fly at an increased pace, Alalshikh announced that the winner of the Canelo-Crawford contest can earn a knockout bonus. The victor will also take home a $190,000 custom
Ring belt made of gold and precious medals, announced Rick Reeno, The Ring’s Chief Operating Officer.
Alvarez went on to label Crawford as a top-six opponent in his career and believes it'll be an entertaining night.
“We expect a great fight, the fight of the century, right?” said Alvarez. “I'm going to win the fight.”
Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan