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What will it take for two-division undisputed champion Terence Crawford to achieve “another milestone for greatness”? During the in-ring interview, after his unanimous decision win over Israil Madrimov last Saturday, he revealed his motivation to fight unified super-middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez. A matchup with the iconic Mexican fighter would mean the biggest paycheck of his life, and a monumental conclusion to his glorious career. But Canelo Alvarez isn’t in a rush. The most sought-after matchmaker in boxing, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh‘s offer to ‘Cinnamon’ for the Crawford fight, has been snubbed. Alvarez made his intentions clear – he is the one who calls the shots!

Meanwhile, HE is not willing to wait around for Canelo Alvarez and will be going forward with other lucrative fight offers for the four-division champion Crawford. Amidst the clash of egos between Alvarez and HE Turki Alalshikh, former Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe has expressed his happiness for Crawford as he acknowledged the master plan from the figurehead of the Riyadh season.

Time for Terence Crawford to enjoy the spoils of war!

Crawford has been boxing professionally for sixteen years now. Although he has elite fighters in his win column, some would say the fanfare around him isn’t what you expect for one of the P4P greats. This is where His Excellency comes to make things right in boxing. “I will be focusing for the US market with bigger fights, especially for the legend Crawford, ” HE Turki Alalshikh stated.

However, the big fights for Terence Crawford will not include the Canelo Alvarez fight, HE clarified. Nonetheless, Leonard Ellerbe is certain that the upcoming plans for Crawford will be a “game changer”. “Really happy for Crawford, this is the kind of push he needed to close out his career and get these big opportunities he wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. Game changer for TC!” Ellerbe wrote on X.

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Zach BacharContributor IJuly 26, 2024

Canelo Alvarez, boxing’s top star, is set to defend his super middleweight championship against Edgar Berlanga on Sept. 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, sources told ESPN.

Alvarez, ESPN’s No. 5 pound-for-pound boxer, will be a heavy favorite to dispatch Berlanga, who will fight on the upper echelon for the first time. Mexico’s Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) is the undisputed champion at 168 pounds but it’s possible the IBF title won’t be on the line as his fight with the IBF mandatory challenger is overdue, sources said.

Alvarez, 34, is coming off a May decision victory over Jaime Munguia. Canelo hasn’t scored a knockout since November 2021 but has scored knockdowns in each of his last three fights.

Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) is a 27-year-old from Brooklyn, New York of Puerto Rican descent. He’s best known for starting his career with 16 first-round KOs. However, as his competition stiffened, Berlanga’s next five opponents lasted the distance. Berlanga’s last in-ring action was a sixth-round KO of Padraig McCrory in February.

David Benavidez has been the public’s top option for fighting Alvarez for years, but Canelo has shown no interest in the WBC interim super middleweight champion.

How did the Alvarez-Berlanga matchup materialize? Who else was considered? Let’s take a look as Alvarez prepares for another Mexican Independence Day weekend fight:

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Who else was in the running to fight Alvarez in September?

The other finalist was Chris Eubank Jr., per sources. Eubank, 34, is the son of British boxer Chris Eubank, who starred in the 1990s in England.

Eubank, too, would have been a major underdog against Alvarez. He’s coming off a 10th-round TKO victory over Liam Smith last September that avenged a KO loss to Smith earlier in the year.

Eubank is also a middleweight (rated No. 4 by ESPN) and would have moved up in weight for the opportunity. While Eubank would have raised interest in the U.K., his name resonates less than Berlanga’s stateside.

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What about Berlanga? Does he pose any threat to Alvarez?

There’s nothing to suggest Berlanga, ESPN’s No. 6 super middleweight, will present any issues for Alvarez inside the ring.

Berlanga doesn’t appear to have the boxing skills to han

Doric SamJuly 23, 2024

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr’s boxing career took a unique new downturn on Saturday night.

The former WBC middleweight champion ended his 30-month layoff to face former UFC fighter on the undercard of Jake Paul’s clash with bare-knuckle boxer Mike Perry.

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Infamously, the last time Chavez Jr. fought a UFC star, he suffered a humiliating decision defeat to faded legend Anderson Silva in June 2021.

The 38-year-old got the win over Hall, but he certainly didn’t redeem himself.

Chavez Jr. got off to a decent start but began to gas as the six-round boxing bout progressed and ultimately had to fend off a late onslaught from his opponent.

The ringside judges scored the fight 58-56, 59-55, and 59-55 in his favour.

“He’s a strong dude but I got my distance,” Chavez Jr. said post-fight.

“The win is easy. It’s a good fight. Great athlete, great person, that’s it.

“He’s tough, he’s strong. He’s not a boxer.”

The 62-fight veteran was subsequently asked who he wants to fight next, and his answer had the 17,000 fans at the AMALIE Arena in Florida loudly booing him.

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Chavez Jr. added: “Jake Paul, why not?”

“I’m a better fighter than his opponents, that’s for sure.”

Fans clearly didn’t like the idea of him getting such a big fight after a lacklustre performance against Hall.

A win over a former boxing world champion would certainly look good on Paul’s record, but at this point that appears to be all Chavez Jr. has to offer him.

Only time will tell if the two men will ever face off in the ring.