Terence Crawford Middle East move implied
Pound-for-pound star Terence Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) is set to have his first fight in Saudi Arabia, with Turki Alalshikh hinting that he intends to stage a showdown involving the former undisputed welterweight champion.
Alalshikh – the Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia – has taken the boxing world be storm since his first combat sports event in October last year.
His next show in the nation’s capital, Riyadh, will be headlined by the undisputed light heavyweight clash between Artur Beterbiev and Dmirty Bivol, with Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren’s stables pitted against each other on the undercard.
Crawford, though, seems to be next on Alalshikh’s hitlist, with the American responding to a post on social media indicating that they are in talks, perhaps for his next outing.
Since his dominant win over Errol Spence Jr last year, when he scored a ninth-round stoppage to secure all of the jewellery at 147 lbs, Crawford has been twiddling his thumbs, patiently waiting for the next big fight to come his way.
However, now that Jaron Ennis has claimed his old IBF belt, he no longer has the undisputed status attached to his name.
Regardless, the 36-year-old is still one of the most marketable fighters in the sport, and has been mentioned alongside undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez in a potential matchup.
Whether or not his next contest is in Riadh, it was always a matter of when, not if, Crawford would fight in the Middle East.
With seemingly no danger of the money drying out, Alalshikh continues to break down barriers in the sport – even bringing Hearn and Warren to the negotiating table.
Their card on June 1 will see a 5v5 of Matchroom and Queensberry fighters, with Deontay Wilder and Hamzah Sheeraz captioning their respective teams.