Turki Alalshikh says he’s “in the middle’ and not on Terence Crawford’s side in his superfight against Canelo Alvarez on September 13th on Netflix. Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs) believes that Turki is in Crawford’s corner, and pointed that out last Sunday at the New York press conference.
Today, Canelo told Ring Magazine, “I hope your uncle Turki pays you enough money because it’s going to be the last,” letting Crawford know his paydays will be over after he loses on September 13th.
Canelo believes that Crawford is one of Turki’s favorite fighters and helped him get this fight that he’d not asked for. Alvarez didn’t see any point in defending his super middleweight belts against the smaller, older Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs), who had never fought at 168 and had shown zero ambition to move up to the weight class to earn a fight.
Turki’s Neutral Stance Explained
“I am in the middle. What is in my heart is in my heart,” said Turki Alalshikh to Ring Magazine, addressing the perception some fans have that he’s on Terence Crawford’s side heading into his fight with Canelo Alvarez. “Crawford is bigger than Canelo [size-wise].”
Fans believe Turki is on Crawford’s side because, without him, he wouldn’t have gotten this fight. The Mexican superstar Canelo saw no value in fighting Crawford, especially after his life and death battle against Israil Madrimov last August.
Crawford was NOT on anyone’s list as a fighter that fans wanted to see Canelo fight. They wanted him to fight David Benavidez and Dmitry Bivol. Turki is the one who wanted the Canelo-Crawford fight.
Benavidez is the one who deserved to fight Canelo, as he’d been fighting at 168 for years, trying to get a title shot against him. Crawford has never fought at 168, and chances are, he’d get thrashed if he chose to fight anyone good to earn a title shot against Canelo the traditional way. Terence couldn’t even beat Israil Madrimov without controversy among fans.
Canelo-Crawford Betting Odds Shift
“It started at 5 to 1 and now 2 to 1, and less,” said Turki about the betting odds for Canelo vs. Crawford.
“Now people are starting to look back at their recent fights. Now, they’re saying, ‘I think Crawford may be able to pull it off,’” said Rick Reeno. “They’re not looking at him anymore as the smaller guy who will get blown out.”
What makes it impossible to believe that Crawford can win is his performance against Israil Maadrimov last August. If the oddsmakers had taken a look at that fight in which Crawford should have lost, they’d be giving him slim to no chance of beating Alvarez on September 13th.
Madrimov out-punched and put-boxed Crawford, making him look his age and then some. You could see Crawford isn’t the same fighter he’s been fighting at 147 to 135. Age had kicked in, and he’d hit his ceiling of what his body is capable of.
“Crawford, as I said to you, is a two-time undisputed champion and a four-division world champion,” said Turki Alalshikh. “Crawford is Crawford.”
“And he has a lot of confidence,” said Mike Coppinger about Crawford.
Weak Foes Built Crawford’s Record
While it sounds impressive that Crawford is a two-time undisputed champion, upon examining the fighters he beat to accomplish that, it greatly diminishes the achievement. The opposition that Bud fought weren’t good enough to make a big deal out of his becoming a two-time undisputed.
The only good name out of the fighters Crawford beat was Errol Spence, but he was a shell of his former self by then. We’d seen that in Spence’s fights following his terrible car crash in 2019. He’s been badly hurt in his fight against Yordenis Ugas, and he struggled against a washed-up Danny Garcia before that.
How Crawford became a two-division undisputed champion:
140:
– Julius Indongo: IBF & WBA
– Viktor Postol: WBC
– Thomas Dulorme: WBO
147:
– Jeff Horn: WBO
– Errol Spence: IBF, WBA, and WBC
The name that is missing from this list that would have given Crawford credibility is Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis. He should have fought Ennis BEFORE leaving the 147-lb division.
Why Crawford Skipped Ennis
The fact that Crawford fled the division without fighting Boots suggests that he saw the warning signs of what would happen if he stayed. So, he skedaddled out of the weight class to avoid a loss. It was smart but pathetic at the same time. The timing of Crawford fleeing the 147-pound division and the emergence of Ennis as the young killers leaves one with the impression that he saw it was too hot to stay in the kitchen. So, he fled.
Last Updated on 06/23/2025
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