Turki Alalshikh responds to Canelo Alvarez's recent comments on potential Terence Crawford bout: "I knew he was wasting our time"

His Excellency Turki Alalshikh has responded to Canelo Alvarez's recent assertion regarding a possible fight against Terence Crawford. Alalshikh suggested that Alvarez priced himself out of the potential showdown.

Mexico's Alvarez and America's Crawford have long been counted among the world's most elite boxers. Alvarez has held world titles at super welterweight, middleweight, super middleweight, and light heavyweight over the course of his storied career.

As for Crawford, he's held titles at lightweight, super lightweight, welterweight, and super welterweight. Some feel that their weight differential makes a potential fight between them unfeasible.

His Excellency Turki Alalshikh previously expressed interest in booking a Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford super-fight, possibly to headline a '5 vs. 5' Mexico vs. U.S.A. showdown.

Nevertheless, taking to X, Alalshikh recently claimed he doesn't want the Alvarez-Crawford matchup anymore and looks forward to bigger fights with Crawford and other fighters.

Meanwhile, Canelo Alvarez responded to the development by asserting that he's focused on his upcoming fight. Alvarez claims to have told Alalshikh's team that he currently isn't thinking about the Crawford matchup. The 34-year-old alluded to his respect for the Saudi Arabia boxing promoter but emphasized that he wants to do business in his way.

Taking to X, Alalshikh subsequently highlighted Alvarez's 2022 defeat against WBA (Super) light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol. He believes Alvarez has been looking for easier fights ever since.

Besides, implying that Alvarez was evading fights against David Benavidez and Terence Crawford, His Excellency wrote:

"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 anyone who likes easy fights won't like that."

He added:

"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."

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Veteran boxing personality praises Canelo Alvarez amid disagreement with His Excellency Turki Alalshikh

Presently, Canelo Alvarez is scheduled to defend his WBA, WBC, WBO, and Ring Magazine super middleweight championships against Edgar Berlanga. Their fight transpires at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A., on Sept. 14, 2024.

Amid Alvarez's evident disagreement with Turki Alalshikh, certain sections of the combat sports community are of the view that Alvarez might miss lucrative paydays and high-profile matchups if he doesn't work with Alalshikh.

Regardless, former Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe seems to disagree and has lent his support to the boxing megastar. The veteran boxing personality opined that Canelo Alvarez is at the zenith of the sport and remains unfazed by detractors' opinions. Ellerbe tweeted:

"With Canelo, the fans are witnessing an athlete who's at the pinnacle, he's getting crazy money, calling all the shots and give zero f*s what the naysayers think. He's in a wonderful place, he's happy and living his truth. Respect"