Canelo vs. Crawford in works for Allegiant Stadium with Jake Paul out?

Mick Akers, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Feb 7, 2025

Published in Boxing

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LAS VEGAS — A week of on-again, off-again reports tied to mega-fights involving Las Vegas and Canelo Alvarez is ending with finger-pointing and a potential fall showdown at Allegiant Stadium.

The week of speculative boxing talk started Monday with Ring Magazine reporting that Alvarez would face Terence Crawford on Sept. 13 at Allegiant Stadium, a fight matching two of the sport’s biggest stars.

The fight would have been the first combat sporting event at Allegiant Stadium since it opened in July 2020.

When reached for comment Tuesday, Allegiant Stadium general manager Andy Gorchov said he could neither confirm nor deny that talks were taking place for the venue to host the fight.

The fight was being negotiated with Riyadh Season, named after the capital of Saudi Arabia. Riyadh Season is headed by Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of the country’s General Entertainment Authority, who owns Ring Magazine after purchasing it from Oscar De La Hoya last year.

Then on Wednesday, Ring Magazine reported that the Alvarez-Crawford bout was off.

ESPN then reported Thursday that Alvarez was nearing a deal to fight internet personality turned boxer Jake Paul on May 3 at T-Mobile Arena. The fight would have been Paul’s first in Las Vegas.

ESPN later reported that the Alvarez-Paul fight was off because Alalshikh had issues with it amid negotiations with Alvarez for a multi-fight deal.

Most Valuable Promotions, which Paul cofounded, then issued a statement Friday taking a jab presumably at Riyadh Season for how the negotiations of the Alvarez fight broke down.

“MVP was deep in negotiations for a blockbuster fight between Jake Paul and Canelo Alvarez on Cinco de Mayo weekend in Las Vegas, a massive event for the Mexican, Puerto Rican and American fans, and it’s disappointing to see how the situation unfolded,” MVP said. “MVP operates with integrity, transparency and respect for the sport, its athletes and the fans. Unfortunately, not everyone in the boxing world shares those values. This situation is a reminder not to believe everything you read, especially when the current media environment is often controlled by those with hidden agendas, including promoters who have reporters on their payroll.”

On Thursday night, shortly after the fight with Paul was nixed, Alalshikh announced on social media platform X that Riyadh Season had reached a four-fight deal with Alvarez, with a September date planned for Las Vegas and the other three in Saudi Arabia.

ESPN reported that the September date would be against Crawford (41-0, 31 knockouts) at Allegiant Stadium. The fight would be for Alvarez’s 168-pound titles, meaning Crawford will have to move up two weight classes from his current 154-pound class.

Shortly after Alalshikh announced the multi-fight deal with Alvarez, who is 62-2-2 with 39 knockouts, Crawford seemed to confirm his bout with the Mexican fighter in a comment on the post.

“I’m waiting on Canelo in September and going to shock the world in Riyadh Season,” Crawford wrote. The response was reposted by Alalshikh on X.

A person with knowledge of Allegiant Stadium scheduling indicated the fight would take place Sept. 12 because the UNLV football team is scheduled to host Idaho State on Sept. 13.