There will already be a lot on the line when Canelo Alvarez puts his undisputed super middleweight championship on the line against Terence Crawford on Sept. 13 in Las Vegas, live on Netflix. But to add additional incentive, Turki Alalshikh , chairman of the General Entertainment Authority and president of the Saudi Boxing Federation, announced that there will be a bonus for a knockout.
The announcement came during the kickoff presser for Canelo-Crawford in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Friday. Alalshikh has been steadfast in putting an end to "Tom & Jerry fights," where one fighter is "running around the ring and another fighter is chasing him." To counter this, he has installed a KO bonus that will be implemented in future fights he promotes, starting with Canelo-Crawford.
"We will not have [Tom & Jerry fights] anymore," Alalshikh said. "We will have in this fight and our next fights a bonus for a KO."
Alalshikh did not specify how much the bonus would be or whether it would be installed for the undercard. The implementation mirrors what his promoting partner, UFC CEO Dana White, uses in the UFC with Performance Bonuses.
As for the fighters, Canelo and Crawford were cordial, yet stern in their confidence for the upcoming fight.
"However I got to fight, I'm going to win," said Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs). "I'm not going to let someone else tell me how to fight when I've been doing that my whole life. I won't be running. I can tell you that. But I will be doing a lot of touching."
Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) suggested that there was "nothing different" about Crawford in comparison to his previous opponents and made it clear that he would prevent the former two-division undisputed world champion from leaving Las Vegas as boxing's only male fighter to be undisputed in three different weight classes.
"He's not going to beat me," Canelo said. "Don't worry about it...I'm a winner."
Crawford has knocked out 11 of his last 12 opponents but will be jumping up two weight classes, from 154 to 168 pounds, to challenge the Mexican superstar. Not only does he believe his record will remain unblemished, but he will also make history with by adding all four major world title belts in a record third weight division.
"For sure those belts are coming home with me," said Crawford. "I'm taking them and ain't nothing you can do about it come fight night."
