Canelo Alvarez has started yet another beef. This time, it’s with none other than His Excellency Turki Alalshikh. The Saudi Royal has been orchestrating some of the biggest fights in the sport, including last weekend’s Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov event in LA. However, something interesting happened after Crawford failed to leave everyone in awe of his boxing prowess. 

Although he expressed a desire to make the Canelo vs. Crawford mega-fight during the event’s telecast, the Saudi advisor to the Royal Court later revealed that he was no longer pursuing the bout after Crawford’s fight concluded. Meanwhile, the former undisputed super middleweight champion responded to this, claiming he doesn’t care about fighting Crawford, anyway. And emphasized that if the fight were to happen, it would be on his terms, not theirs. This seems to have prompted a fiery response from Alalshikh on X, where he accused Canelo of avoiding both Crawford and David Benavidez while aiming for “easy fights”.

HE Turki Alalshikh doesn’t hold back his punches

He began by suggesting he heard about Canelo claiming he respects him but doesn’t like how he does business. However, that remark didn’t bother the Saudi royal in any way. He went on to accuse Canelo of not liking the way he does things because “I only target big fights at fair prices, so of course anyone who likes easy fights won’t like that”.

HE Turki Alalshikh even roped in Canelo’s biggest regret. What might that be? Well, his climb to 175 pounds, of course. Highlighting Canelo’s 2022 loss to light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, Alalshikh claimed ever since his loss, the Mexican boxing star has been looking for “easier fights”. But this wasn’t the end of the accusations hurled at Canelo.

His Excellency further added, “I’m not the one who’s afraid of fighting Benavidez or Crawford”. It’s worth mentioning that on the day of Crawford vs. Madrimov, Alalshikh had suggested he had reached out to Canelo’s team with an offer to fight Crawford. So, in his post, he clarified that the reason he stopped pursuing the bout was that “[Canelo] was wasting our time and making excuses with big amounts of money that can’t be paid”.

The Saudi Royal took a last jab at Canelo, claiming that he will continue pursuing the best fights in the sport while Canelo pursues his trademark “easy show-only” bouts. Canelo is slated to face his WBA mandatory Edgar Berlanga on September 14th, which many believe will be a walk in the park for the Mexican champ. Canelo reacted to the tirade from His Excellency on X with a couple of laughing emojis. But get this. His next fight is now receiving backlash even from the folks outside boxing.

Conor McGregor takes shots at Canelo Alvarez

Conor McGregor recently took aim at Canelo Alvarez’s drawing power in the pay-per-view market, especially as Alvarez gears up to fight Edgar Berlanga on the same night as UFC 306 in Las Vegas. McGregor, a UFC superstar and co-owner of BKFC, downplayed Alvarez’s appeal, stating, “Canelo is a cornflake. He has about [300,000] buys in him. He does not generate nothing near what he seeks to be paid.” These remarks follow Alvarez’s assertion that he wants to be paid $200 million to face David Benavidez in a potential bout. 

McGregor believes Alvarez doesn’t sell enough to justify such a payout, adding, “UFC [306] is going to run them from the strip. Sheik Turki was right moving on. Canelo doesn’t sell.” Even Dana White reacted to this development, stating he respects Canelo Alvarez, but took aim at MGM. He said, “The guys at MGM have done nothing but f**king disrespect me and the UFC for 20 years. It is what it is. Here we go.”

It appears Canelo Alvarez has landed himself in the middle of several feuds solely because of his unprecedented demands. With the Saudis taking over the sport, the future might not be as fruitful for Canelo, as he is so confident it will be. What is your take on this situation?