The Battle For Las Vegas is set with Canelo Alvarez on one side against the combined forces of UFC, Conor McGregor, and Saudi Arabia on the other.
The final showdown occurs September 14th on Mexican Independence Day weekend, where Alvarez goes head to head against the UFC. Canelo vs. Berlanga takes place in the T-Mobile Arena. UFC 306: O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili (aka Riyadh Season Noche UFC) occurs down the street at the extremely expensive but spectacular Sphere.
You can expect a lot of skirmishes in the five weeks remaining before the shows take place. Already we have Conor McGregor declaring UFC will ‘run Canelo off the strip’ and Riyadh Season promoter Turki Alalshikh trying to tarnish Alvarez’s reputation.
“I only target big fights at fair prices, so of course anyone who likes easy fights won’t like that,” Alalshikh tweeted on Wednesday. “And I know how [Alvarez] feels after losing to Bivol, so he’s been looking for easier fights ever since. Also, I’m not the one who’s afraid of fighting Benavidez or Crawford.”
“Therefore, I knew he was wasting our time and making excuses with big amounts of money that can’t be paid. So I’m continuing my way to make big fights that serve the boxing world, and he’s on his way to making easy show-only fights.”
Canelo, who had initially said his refusal to meet with Alalshikh had more to do with focusing on the upcoming Berlanga fight than anything else, responded to Turki’s message with laughing emojis. As for Conor McGregor’s comments?
“What’s happening is that he’s helping Dana White to sell for the UFC,” Alvarez said at a recent presser. “That’s why he’s saying that. But he knows he’s my son.”
