Boxing

Boxing Insider Teases The Massive Platform Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford Could Be Held On

Could Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford get broadcast on this massive platform?
Grant Young|
Saul "Canelo" Alvarez during the Mexicana 2024 Mexico vs New Zealand game.
Saul "Canelo" Alvarez during the Mexicana 2024 Mexico vs New Zealand game. | IMAGO / Agencia-MexSport

On March 5, news broke that Turki Alalshikh, UFC president Dana White, and TKO Group Holdings (which is the parent company of the UFC and WWE) agreed to terms on a multi-year partnership to begin a new boxing promotion.

In a statement in the wake of this massive announcement, Dana White is quoted saying of his plans for this new boxing league:

"Everybody knows the format. The best fight the best. You work your way up the rankings and once somebody breaks into the top five, there's no question who the top five guys are in each weight class and they fight it out. And once somebody holds that belt, you don't need three letters in front of the belt. Whoever has the belt is the best in the world in that weight class. It's a very simple model."

When it comes to the best fighting the best this year, the expected superfight between Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Terence Crawford (which Crawford asserted he's waiting for in September) is the first bout that comes to mind. And during a March 5 episode of The Ariel Helwani Show, boxing insider Ariel Helwani conveyed not only that the Canelo vs. Crawford fight could be attached to this new fight league, but it could also be broadcast on a massive platform.

"Remember what [TKO Group Holdings COO Mark Shapiro] said on that call last week: In addition to... that league, as they're calling it, we're also going to be doing superfights. Two this year, two next year. Massive fights," Helwani said.

"Don't be surprised if the first one is Canelo Alvarez vs. Crawford. And don't be surprised if that first one is on a platform like Netflix," he continued.

Helwani has a track record of only making these sorts of statements publicly if he knows something others do not.

Given that Helwani reported how Canelo didn't want his now-failed fight agreement with Jake Paul to be broadcast on Netflix, it's fascinating to hear that this new TKO boxing league could potentially make that happen with his Crawford fight.

The Latest Boxing News

Turki Alalshikh, Dana White Announce New Boxing Promotion

UFC And WWE Parent Company COO Gives Update On Creation Of New Boxing League

Insider Explains What Led To Canelo Alvarez vs Jake Paul Fight Negotiation Failure

Lamont Roach Jr. Argues Fight Overturn vs Gervonta 'Tank' Davis In Social Media Rant

Published
Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young is a Staff Writer for On SI’s Boxing, New York Mets, Indiana Fever, and Women’s Fastbreak sites. Before joining SI in 2024, he wrote for various boxing and sports verticals such as FanBuzz and NY Fights. Young has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in creative writing with an emphasis on sports nonfiction from the University of San Francisco, where he played five seasons of Division 1 baseball. He fought Muay Thai professionally in Thailand in 2023, loves a good essay, and is driven crazy trying to handle a pitpull puppy named Aura. Young lives in San Diego and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.