Last month, Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez signed a four-fight deal with His Excellency Turki Alalshikh. The first fight, against IBF super middleweight champion William Scull, will take place in May in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This fight is intended to restore Canelo’s IBF belt, which was taken from him for refusing to fight Scull previously. 

Regardless, a win against Scull will put him on a collision course with former two-weight undisputed champion Terence Crawford in September. While the fight is speculated to unfold at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, who will promote the fight remains shrouded in mystery. In the meantime, the architect of the Riyadh Season has dropped hints about UFC head honcho Dana White’s involvement. 

In case the word on the boxing street has eluded you this far, Alalshikh has partnered with TKO Holdings to start a new boxing league. This will involve Dana White running the day-to-day operations, as he aims to use the UFC model to elevate boxing to new heights. While the exact date for the league’s launch has not been revealed, Alalshikh has teased that Canelo vs. Crawford could be the league’s inaugural event to promote.

During an appearance on ESPN, Alalshikh stated, “Ask [Dana] when the first event will be held in September. Ask him to answer… Maybe it’ll be September 12th.” Since then, the GEA chairman has shared more details about who will promote the fight. “After the 3rd of May, we will announce the details about the Canelo and Crawford fight, a big fight in the history of boxing,” he said.

“And there’s a surprise about who will be the promoter of this big fight, and the platform where you will see the big fight in,” Alalshikh added. Fast forward to today, White appeared in an interview with Fight Hype, where he shared details about his involvement with the Canelo vs. Crawford fight. “Well, listen, my model is way different,” White told the reporter. 

“Turki has things that he’s obligated to over the next 18 months. I want to break the sport down and build it from the ground up like we did the UFC, so I’m on a different path.” The excitement surrounding Canelo vs. Crawford is undeniable, but one man could spoil it all.

William Scull wants to derail the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford fight

William Scull is determined to derail Canelo Alvarez’s plans for a blockbuster showdown with Terence Crawford. The undefeated Cuban will face Alvarez on May 3 in Riyadh, with the undisputed super middleweight title on the line. Alvarez is expected to reclaim the IBF belt and move on to face Crawford. However, Scull is confident in pulling off an upset.

“On May 3, I’m going to display my talents, and I will shut everybody up,” Scull declared at a recent press conference. He also took issue with the way the boxing world is treating him as an afterthought. “It’s disrespectful,” he said. Alvarez, coming off a win over Edgar Berlanga, has his eyes on history. But Scull plans to stop him in his tracks and take the belts back to Cuba.

Having said that, only time will tell whether Dana White and TKO Boxing will promote the upcoming Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford fight. But regardless of who promotes it, fans are just excited to see the action unfold. Do you think TKO will promote the fight?