Dana White kick starts responsibility of Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford after major Turki Alalshikh announcement

Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford mega fight official for September, TKO Boxing League's Dana White plays staredown mediator.

Dana White kick starts responsibility of Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford after major Turki Alalshikh announcement

Dana White shoots off Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford face-off (Source: X/IMAGO)

The inaugural TKO boxing event is now taking full shape. A Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford mega fight will headline TKO Boxing’s first boxing showcase at Allegiant Stadium, LV. Under Saudi GEA didactics, the boxing icons recently had their first media staredown for it. UFC CEO Dana White, though, took all attention as center stage and mediator.

After a lackluster boxing week and listless events, Saudi GEA boxing chief Turki Alalshikh announced the matter on his socials. Canelo Alvarez recently entered a 4-fight Saudi GEA deal for the extended Riyadh Season. He completed the first leg of which, this weekend (May 4), snagging the undisputed super middleweight crown in a lackluster headhunting stroll vs. William Scull. Later on, an image went around, the circulation of him and Terence Crawford staring down with Dana White in tow.

The MMA supremo later reposted the snap on his own socials (@danawhite). White and his efforts with Alalshikh to establish a TKO boxing league of its own had been warranting attention for months now. The $5,000 signing bonus/$50,000 (Rank 5-10), $125,000 (3-4) tiers, and UFC-styled $750,000 champion payouts did catch quite the flak. Even ‘Bud’ himself imparted some knick-knacks to it, on how boxing has a pay disparity that’s far off.

However, those frictions did not seem to boil over. Canelo Alvarez himself had shown interest in being part of this TKO league despite pay oddities and net-profit participation payout. After a good defense of his WBA, WBC, and WBO world titles and snagging the IBF hardware, he is ready to get to it. There are thoughts that White’s boxing dreams might not go beyond the ground-up stage. But things seem to be moving in the right direction, so far.

Turki Alalshikh announces Dana White as TKO boxing league promoter for Alvarez vs. Crawford boxing bout

In March, TKO Group Holdings, Inc., and Saudi GEA chairman Alalshikh hopped on board to launch a new boxing league. While the finer details were sparse beyond Dana White building it from scratch, it did catch on some eye. Specifically, as the UFC head said, he would not include the major boxing sanctions or frameworks for it.

Saudi GEA announce TKO Boxing League and Dana Whtie to have big part in promotion
Saudi GEA announce TKO Boxing League and Dana Whtie to have big part in promotion (Source: X)

Often labelled as a hazard for the open combat sports market, White is willing to take from the sanctioning bodies. It does put up major combat cards in places like Saudi Arabia, after all. But he has planned some unique stuff for his TKO league that would not follow their listings, rankings, or belt management. There are also some one-of-one mega events in the pipeline.

There has been early confirmation about two annual super-fights already. Consequently, the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford affair is to be the first such one. This weekend, His Excellency gave a final official nod to it, with Dana White in tow.

We will deliver the fight of the century with @RiyadhSeason on Sept. 12 at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium. The legend @Canelo defends his @ringmagazine title vs. the great @terencecrawford. TV platform will be announced soon with big surprise. My brother @danawhite will promote this first TKO boxing event with me. It will be something crazy.

Turki Alalshikh via X (@Turki_alalshikh)

While there are kinks behind this new boxing venture and how it will hold up, the excitement is soaring. Before this, the UFC bossman played one-time promoter, ponying up $50 million for The Money Fight: Mayweather Jr. vs. McGregor, 2017.

The venture made 4.3 million PPV buys and a $55 million live gate alone! Will the Alvarez vs. Bud affair be a shocker like the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor pre-fight media tour? Will Dana White’s linkage and a global fight setting other than boxing’s own playgrounds help? Will the hype and setup be worth it if more than a standard $60 DAZN PPV tag? Only time will tell.

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