"He couldn't buy Canelo" - Fans react to Turki Alalshikh suddenly dropping Canelo Alvarez from his fight plans for 2024

Seems like boxing star Canelo Alvarez will be dropped from Saudi Arabian adviser Turki Alalshikh's plans to put together high-profile fights on United States soil. The current Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority has been the driving force to leverage the biggest purse strings in boxing and harness that force to fix a sport he once labeled "broken."

In his grand plan to orchestrate some of the biggest fights in the boxing landscape, Alalshikh revealed that he plans on staging a showdown between Alvarez and Terence Crawford. Alashikhk initially planned on booking Crawford to fight Australian boxer Tim Tszyu on August 3. However, the American was later booked to fight Israil Madrimov after Tszyu lost to Sebastian Fundora in March.

However, Alalshikh's recent X post following a meeting with his team suggests that Alvarez has been scratched off from his plans for boxing events in the 2024-2024 season. He wrote:

"Just wrapped up an important meeting now with my team, planning for the upcoming fights that we will make for 2024-2025. I decided to disregard the Canelo fight, as I don’t want it anymore. Instead, I will be focusing for the US market with bigger fights, especially for the legend Crawford."

Check out the X post below:

Several fans reacted to the post with their take on what transpired behind the scenes in the lead-up to the decision. They wrote:

"He didn't like the fact he couldn't buy Canelo....he's been buying everyone in boxing and even an induction to the Hall of Fame lol....but Canelo doesn't need him."

"Of course not. Saw TC [Terence Crawford] against Madrimov and realised going up another 2 divisions for Canelo was a terrible idea. Mismatch!"

"I don’t want it anymore”… translation: Canelo said no."

"Sounds like he’s had enough of Canelo, too big of a star for them to have their way with him and they aren’t liking it."

Check out some of the reactions below:

Fans react to Turki Alalshikh dropping Canelo Alvarez from future plans [Images courtesy: @MichaelBensonn on X]

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What was Turki Alalshikh's original plan with the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford clash?

Turki Alalshikh, president of the Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority, initially wanted to orchestrate a 5 vs. 5 showdown between Mexico and the United States, led by a fight between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford.

He was asked on X about the potential idea. He responded with emojis of a face with sunglasses, a man shrugging his shoulders, and a boxing glove-implying that he's not ruling out the idea entirely.

However, while that idea may seem far-fetched, Alalshikh was determined to secure the Alvarez vs. Crawford clash. Speaking in an interview with ESPN, he said:

"I'm working to deliver [Canelo], but it will be a big fight [for Crawford]. I'll discuss with him the names."