Canelo, Crawford promote boxing megafight with UFC feel

Adam Hill, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Jun 28, 2025

Published in Boxing

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LAS VEGAS — If Friday’s news conference at T-Mobile Arena was any indication, Dana White’s impact on the boxing world will be immediate and dramatic.

There could be no mistaking that boxing superstars Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford are part of a UFC production as they completed their global press tour for their megafight by taking questions in front of several thousand fans.

White, the UFC’s president, is a longtime boxing fan who has often discussed a desire to cross over into the sport. He gets his chance with one of the biggest possible matchups on Sept. 13 at Allegiant Stadium.

“Obviously, I’ve been talking about boxing, and I wouldn’t be where I am without boxing,” White said. “For this to be my first boxing match that I’m promoting is pretty surreal and incredible.”

Alvarez and Crawford took the stage Friday to talk about the fight and almost immediately answered a series of questions from fans, content creators and the media. It was a stark contrast to the typical boxing promotional events that feature crosstalk and monologues from every person who is even tangentially related to the event.

It was a welcome change, even if the answers didn’t generate a whole lot of substantive news, outside of perhaps Alvarez stopping short of confirming internet speculation that he turned down millions in endorsements in a protest of recent immigration crackdowns.

White also declined to discuss how a deal came together for UNLV to move its home game against Idaho State from Sept. 13 to Aug. 23 to free Allegiant Stadium to host its first-ever boxing event.

That decision marked a departure for White, who has railed against stadium shows for many years because of his belief in the importance of intimate venues for combat sports events.

But he didn’t shy away from setting a high bar for what fans should expect in September.

“I don’t like stadium shows because I feel like the experience isn’t great for fans,” he said. “It’s my and my team’s job to make sure that live experience inside Allegiant Stadium is the best anyone’s ever seen in combat sports. That’s our challenge.

“But we did the Sphere in a short amount of time (for a UFC event last September), and I guarantee we’ll pull this off, too.”

‘Mount Rushmore’ fight

White certainly picked the right fight to try to live up to such a standard.

Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 knockouts) is one of the biggest stars in the sport and will defend the undisputed super middleweight (168-pound) title against Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs), who is moving up from junior middleweight (154) for a chance to be the first undisputed champion in three weight classes.

“This could put me on the Mount Rushmore of boxing,” Crawford said multiple times Friday.

Alvarez doesn’t believe that will happen. He derided the quality of Crawford’s competition and repeatedly questioned his ability to step up in weight class.

“You’ve fought nobody, so of course you’ve looked great,” Alvarez said.

It’s a familiar narrative for Crawford, who said critics have predicted just about every opponent would provide his first real challenge until he dominates yet again and all of a sudden that foe was never a legitimate threat.

“After I beat you, you’ll be a nobody, too,” Crawford said of Alvarez.

Mostly respectful

Those exchanges were few and far between, however. The fighters were mostly respectful as they answered questions for nearly a half hour in their third stop of the week following news conferences in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and New York.

“I’ve always said I’m a big fan of Canelo,” Crawford said. “He’s a great fighter. I just think I’m better. I’m capable of doing anything I want in the ring, and come September 13, I will become the first male three-time undisputed champion of the world.”

The biggest takeaway is the fight between two of the biggest stars in the sport is actually happening.

The lack of blockbuster fights coming together is one of the biggest issues White has vowed to fix with his entrance into boxing, and his power, along with the money and influence of Turki Al-Sheikh, has made it happen.

“These are the kinds of fights you would have been talking about 10 years later that you wish you would have been able to see,” White said. “I’ve always tried since day one to put on the best fights with the best fighters in the world. That’s what this fight is.”