Turki Alalshikh has announced his desired list of 10 fighters for the undercard of the highly anticipated Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford bout. He emphasized his wish for these fighters to deliver exciting performances. The main event is scheduled for September 13 and will stream live on Netflix from a location in Las Vegas that is still to be announced.
Canelo will defend his undisputed super-middleweight title in this fight, while Crawford seeks to become a three-division undisputed champion. Alalshikh, who is promoting the Riyadh Season event in collaboration with UFC president Dana White and Sela, specifically highlighted unified bantamweight world champion Junto Nakatani as a key fighter he wants featured on the undercard.
Alalshikh shared his vision on social media platform X, stating, “The world will watch Riyadh Season’s Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford fight of the century on Netflix.” He added, “I want to load the undercard with young, hungry fighters who deserve to perform under the bright lights.” He then listed his specific choices for September 13, topped by The Ring champion Junto Nakatani, and including Christian Mbilli, Mohammed Alakel, Reito Tsutsumi, Justin Viloria, Emiliano Alvarado, Jamar Talley, Abdullah Mason, and Nishant Dev. He concluded by instructing interested fighters and their teams on how to contact him.
Collectively, these ten selected fighters hold a perfect undefeated record of 102-0, with an impressive 79 victories coming by stoppage. Among them, Nakatani, Mbilli, and Mason are particularly notable. Nakatani, Japan`s leading bantamweight, recently bolstered his standing by defeating Ryosuke Nishida, who retired in the sixth round due to an eye injury. Holding both the WBC and IBF bantamweight belts, Nakatani appears to be on a collision course with undisputed super-bantamweight king Naoya Inoue.
Mbilli is positioned for his initial shot at a world title. The undefeated super-middleweight is scheduled to fight Maciej Sulecki of Poland on June 27 for the interim WBC title. Winning this fight would provide the 30-year-old French boxer about 11 weeks to get ready for a possible spot on the Canelo-Crawford undercard.
Mason recently secured another victory, continuing his progression, with a win over Jeremia Nakathila. The promising southpaw from Cleveland might potentially compete against Sam Noakes for the vacant WBO lightweight championship, following recent developments surrounding Keyshawn Davis.
Alalshikh also posted a strong message on X directed at all fighters potentially involved in his future events. He stated, “No more Tom and Jerry-type boxing matches where one fighter runs and another chases.” He emphasized his preference, declaring, “Riyadh Season and The Ring will only support fighters who leave it all in the ring with heart and pride!”
He referenced a recent card, The Ring`s event on May 2 headlined by Ryan Garcia vs. Rolando Romero, which drew significant criticism for its lack of exciting action. That event`s undercard included fights like Teofimo Lopez vs. Arnold Barboza and Devin Haney vs. Jose Carlos Ramirez. Although the Times Square location was visually impressive, the actual boxing performances were widely seen as disappointing.
