Terence Crawford details ‘crazy’ 9-hour Canelo Alvarez negotiations in Saudi ‘little back room’

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Turki Alalshikh finally agreed to a four-fight deal in February after a hectic few days of negotiations, which included overcoming alternative talks between Alvarez and Most Valuable Promotions for a Jake Paul bout. As part of the deal with Alalshikh and Riyadh Season, Alvarez agreed to face Terence Crawford in a historic bout in September, from which Crawford recently emerged victorious.

While it was unsurprising in the moment that Alvarez and Alalshikh struggled to reach a deal due to the previous animosity between the pair and Alvarez’s other lucrative offers on the table, Alalshikh’s agreement with Crawford was expected to be straightforward due to their close relationship and the opportunity for Crawford to face boxing’s biggest star. However, according to Crawford, those negotiations were far from simple.

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He explained Tuesday to former boxing champion Andre Ward’s “The Art of Ward” podcast:

“Turki, he didn’t want the fight at first because he was just like, ‘The size difference.’ The same thing as everybody else: ‘The size difference.’ He was like, ‘Ah, you can fight somebody else in a smaller weight class and it’ll be safer for you. I don’t think you should move up two weight classes and fight [Alvarez].’ And I’m like, ‘Nah, that’s who I want. I don’t want nobody else. That’s who I want.’ Who else is there to fight? [Jaron] ‘Boots’ [Ennis]? That does nothing for my career. [Vergil] Ortiz? That does nothing for my career.”

Crawford’s intention to jump up two more divisions came as a shock to the majority of the boxing world as well. Crawford, Uncrowned’s No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer, began his career as a lightweight (135 pounds) in 2008 and was already competing in his fourth weight class when he moved up to super welterweight (154 pounds) and dethroned Israil Madrimov of his WBA title in August 2024.

Crawford went the distance for the first time in eight years against Madrimov, edging a decision that saw the Omaha boxer struggle to figure the Uzbek out for the majority of the bout until a strong finish powered “Bud” through to the finish line. Crawford’s showing against Madrimov was a sign to some in boxing, perhaps including Alalshikh, that the 38-year-old may have found his limit at 154 pounds.

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Crawford recalled of the negotiation:

“It was tough. It was tough because I remember they all brought me in, and it was crazy. They were like, ‘You, by yourself.’ It was [at] Shakur [Stevenson’s] fight — I think we were in Saudi [Arabia]. So they brought me in there, then we went to the little back room and we were there for like nine hours, going back and forth. They’re not budging, I’m not budging. I’m in that mug by myself and they’re calling Turki, ‘He’s not [agreeing to the deal].’

“They’re talking in their language and texting, and we’re going back and forth [in the negotiations]. And I’m like, ‘Man, I just want to talk to Turki.’ They’re like, ‘You can’t talk to Turki because he’s your friend.’ Yes [they knew Turki would’ve given in to what I wanted]. So they basically were like, ‘Hey, we’ve got to get the deal done. You can see Turki when you get the deal done.’ And I’m like, ‘Listen, what y’all talking about ain’t making sense.'”

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Crawford said Saudi officials continued to be assigned by Alalshikh to negotiate a fair deal with him for the “Canelo” bout and they were given a single day in a room alone with him to reach an agreement.

Crawford said he was unable to bring any representatives in the room to help negotiate on his behalf.

“I had a number and they were just like, ‘Man, listen. We’re going to have to talk.’ So, we [were] all in that [room] for nine hours, dog. Straight. They’re tired, sleepy, irritable. Like you could tell everybody’s frustrated. Man, there was one time, it was like at a moment when we were just sitting in that [room relaxed], just trying to figure it out — everybody’s just quiet.

“And I’m like, ‘Man, I feel like y’all trying to jump me because y’all keep bringing people in to try and negotiate, and I’m just like, ‘That’s not going to work.’ So we finally came to terms that day. Everything happened that day. There ain’t nothing [anybody did to help me] — ‘No, it’s you. Not your lawyer, not this guy, not this guy. It’s you. We’re talking to you, so you’re going to have to figure it out. And we can figure out the contract stuff later, but as far as the number, this is going to be a number that you’re going to figure out.’

“So we’re going back and forth, and we’re figuring it out — and then we came to an agreement. And I’m like, ‘Man.’ It wasn’t an agreement that they wanted. It wasn’t an agreement that I wanted. It was kind of like in the middle, so it was just like, ‘Let’s roll with it.’ Then once we agreed to it, everybody was happy that we’re out of this motherf***er, locked up [in this room].”

Crawford’s belief in himself ultimately paid off. While the exact dollar amount of his fight purse hasn’t been released, the Sept. 13 bout against “Canelo” proved to be one of the year’s biggest events, with Crawford’s history-making victory being watched by more than 41 million people on Netflix. In doing so, the native Nebraskan became the first male boxer of the four-belt era to win undisputed titles in three different divisions.