Turki Alalshikh Blasts Canelo For Ducking – ‘He’s Looking For Easier Fights’

Turki Alalshikh has slammed Canelo Alvarez after the Mexican ruled himself out of a Terence Crawford fight. 

Canelo boxes Edgar Berlanga on September 14 as he defends his WBA, WBC and WBO belts at 168. Alvarez was stripped of his IBF belt after he failed to face his mandatory William Scull. The Berlanga fight has received criticism as boxing fans realize the David Benavidez fight is unlikely. The Mexican Monster has said he will stay at 175 pounds as he targets the winner of Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol for undisputed.

Crawford then became a likely opponent for Canelo. Reports indicated that Turki Alalshikh wanted to make the fight. But following Crawford’s win over Israil Madrimov, things have changed. Canelo confirmed he had been contacted by Turki, who wanted to discuss the fight. However, since Canelo was focused on Berlanga, he was not interested in looking elsewhere. He has now ruled himself out of facing Crawford, as he had a few choice words to say about  Alalshikh.

Canelo Reacts

“My response to Turki is this: Yesterday they text me and said we can talk about that fight in February with Crawford. I said, ‘I’m not going to talk about any other fight. I’m focused 100% on this fight. Look, I don’t like the way he talk. If he wants to work with me, it’s in my way, not their way. I don’t need it.  It’s not the way you approach me. I respect everybody and I respect Turki. If he wants to work with me, it needs to be my way. If have nothing to do with Crawford,” Canelo said

Canelo then suggested that Teofimo Lopez deserves the Terence Crawford fight more. The Takeover is a two-weight and two-time lineal champion at 135 and 147. He is the current WBO Junior Welterweight Champion, a belt he acquired after beating the former undisputed champion at 140, Josh Taylor. Lopez has been calling out Crawford for a fight at 147.

But since Bud is now at 154, Lopez may need to move up two weight classes to get that fight unless there is a catchweight. Lopez has several wins over big names, having beaten Vasiliy Lomachenko, Richard Commey and Taylor, to name a few. Canelo felt it was only right that Teofimo got his shot. 

“Crawford needs to fight Teofimo first, and then we’ll see. I’m not asking for that fight. They [Crawford] want to make that fight because it’s a payday obviously. I don’t want that fight. Teofimo deserves it more than me,” Canelo added

Turki Responds

However, Crawford’s prior comments suggested a reluctance to take that fight. He urged Lopez to stay in his ‘own lane’ by facing the big names at 140. But Lopez has struggled to make those big fights. A large part of that is that he struggles to sell out despite his championship pedigree. Crawford is now 36 as he looks to secure the biggest fights for the most money before he walks away. But Turki has responded by accusing Canelo of ducking Benavidez.

“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,” Turki stated

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