'I'm not the one who's afraid': Turki Alalshikh, Canelo Alvarez trade barbs over failed negotiation

Canelo Alvarez and Turki Alalshikh are not seeing eye to eye. In fact, far from it.

The boxing superstar and Saudi Arabian Royal Court adviser turned boxing promoter had a heated, public back-and-forth over a failed negotiation. Alalshikh, who’s become a prominent boxing figure by making some of the biggest fights in recent years, has been very vocal about his desire to make a superfight between Alvarez and Terence Crawford.

However, that recently changed after Alalshikh posted on X that his interest in Alvarez had come to an end, to which “Canelo” responded.

“Crawford needs to fight Teofimo first, and then we’ll see,” Alvarez told Fight Hub TV. “Like I’ve said, at the end of the day, I’m not asking for that fight. They want to make that fight because it’s a payday obviously, but I don’t want that fight. Teofimo deserves more than me.

“My response to Turki is this: Yesterday they texted me, and they said, ‘We can talk about the fight in February with Crawford?’ They text me yesterday. I said, ‘Look, I don’t want to talk about any other fight. I’m focused 100 percent on this fight.’ Look, I don’t like the way he talks. I’m not in this position because of anything. If he wants to work with me, it’s in my way, not in their way. I don’t need it.”

Alvarez is scheduled to defend his to defend his WBA, WBC and WBO super middleweight titles against Edgar Berlanga on Mexican Independence Day weekend Sept. 14 in Las Vegas.

Alalshikh wasn’t happy with Alvarez’s response in the media and fired back at him, while also acusing him of avoiding the Crawford and David Benavidez fights.

“I heard what Canelo said, that he respects me but doesn’t like the way we do business,” Alalshikh wrote on X. “As for him respecting me, it doesn’t matter to me if he does or not. As for the way I do business, I know why he doesn’t like it, because I only target big fights at fair prices, so of course anyone who likes easy fights won’t like that. And I know how he feels after losing to Bivol, so he’s been looking for easier fights ever since. Also, I’m not the one who’s afraid of fighting Benavidez or Crawford.

“Therefore, I knew he was wasting our time and making excuses with big amounts of money that can’t be paid. So I’m continuing my way to make big fights that serve the boxing world, and he’s on his way to making easy show-only fights.”

I heard what Canelo said that he respects me but doesn't like the way we do business.
As for him respecting me, it doesn't matter to me if he does or not.
As for the way I do business, I know why he doesn't like it, because I only target big fights at fair prices, so of course…

— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) August 7, 2024