You ask HE Turki Alalshikh what’s wrong with boxing and he very well might have a whole list for you! Thinly spread fight cards, best fighters avoiding each other, and lack of a central body to keep everyone in line are a few issues that have pushed boxing behind MMA in the 21st century. It seems there is another issue plaguing the sports: pound-for-pound ranking. What’s exactly wrong with it? That Terence Crawford doesn’t sit atop it.
The Saudi adviser at the Royal Court recently laid down a plan to fix boxing, and it seems he also believes he can do the same with the P4P rankings. While Naoya Inoue is the current #1 P4P fighter, Alalshikh believes the honor should lie to ‘Bud’. Therefore, he has pitched the idea of a ‘project’ to help fix it. He wrote, “Inoue is a great boxer, but Crawford is the pound-for-pound number one.”
“I don’t know how the ranking works or if there’s a clear criteria, but it seems like there are some personal opinions and inaccuracies involved. I believe that boxing needs one entity to evaluate with transparency and credibility. Soon, I will support a project for that matter…!” Alalshikh continued.
It seems the decision stuck a cord with Crawford, 36. The American boxer turned to his X handle and replied with an amusing remark. He responded, “if you know, you know [silence emoji].”
Notably, Inoue defended his undisputed super bantamweight crown against Luis Nery on May 6 and has been the more active fighter of the two. Meanwhile, Crawford has yet to mark his return to the squared circle since defeating Errol Spence Jr. But Crawford is central to Alalshikh’s global plans, as he headlines Alalshikh’s first card out of Saudi Arabia. The Omaha native fights Israil Madrimov with the WBA junior middleweight title on the line on Aug. 3 In addition, Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority’s chairman has ambitious plans involving him, as he is looking to set up bigger fights for him.
Alalshikh wants to set up Canelo Alvarez vs. Crawford as he eyes a timeline of December or January. He told ESPN, “I’m working to deliver [Canelo Alvarez], but it will be big fight [for Terence Crawford]. I’ll discuss with him the names. “
Crawford has expressed his desire to meet Alvarez to seal off his legacy. However, the weight disparity between the two always caused concerns about the feasibility of the fight. It seems Alalshikh doesn’t want to keep the fans waiting for a fight that can be called the biggest fight in boxing.
