channel<\/a>, criticizing the undercard that has been packaged with the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford fight on September 13. \u201cWhat\u2019s going on? You already spent $300 million or $500 million. What\u2019s up with the undercard, Turki?\u201d<\/p>\nEmpty Card, No Interest<\/p>\n
It\u2019s understandable why Bradley has overlooked the bare-bones undercard that has been assembled for the Canelo-Crawford event next week, as fans are ignoring it because it lacks high-caliber fights.<\/p>\n
Arguably, the best of the bunch is the Christian Mbilli vs. Lester Martinez fight. Even that one has failed to resonate, as Martinez hasn\u2019t fought any notable opposition during his career. The same applies to Mbilli. It would have been better to use Osleys Iglesias or Diego Pacheco as the opponent for Mbilli, as those two would have an excellent chance of beating him. There would have been more interest.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis ain\u2019t like you, Turki. You put on main event cards. Every fight could be their own main event, and you\u2019re going to give us this garbage right here?\u201d said Bradley about the Canelo-Crawford undercard. \u201cCome on, man. Hey, there ain\u2019t no such thing as halfway crooks. Don\u2019t be halfway doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s too late now. Turki already has the undercard set for Canelo-Crawford, and he\u2019s not talking about adding any additional fights to beef it up for fans. That\u2019s a big negative because there are many fans who are uninterested in watching Canelo fight an aging 37-year-old in a gimmick fight.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not a sporting one because Crawford has never fought at 168 and has been sitting, waiting for his fight.<\/p>\n
I believe that with the way Crawford looked in his last fight, he\u2019d lose to five of the top 10 contenders in the super middleweight division.<\/p>\n
Some fans see it as a money grab and a retirement payday for Crawford\u2019s benefit, given his success in the lower weight classes. It\u2019s\u00a0akin to the equivalent of a\u00a0gold watch given to an employee retiring from a company in the past.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re going to do it, Turki. Do it like you\u2019ve been doing it, Turki. Don\u2019t be halfway doing it, man. I don\u2019t know nobody on the damn undercard. Who the hell these dudes is? I\u2019m like, \u2018Who?\u2019 I can\u2019t even say some of these damn names on the undercard,\u201d said Bradley.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s troubling is that Turki\u2019s July 12 and February 22, 2025, events had better undercards than the Canelo vs. Crawford card. The same goes for all four of Turki\u2019s events in 2024.<\/p>\n
Turki\u2019s loaded events in 2024:<\/p>\n
December 21: Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk 2 rematch
\nOctober 12: Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 1
\nSeptember 18: Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois
\nAugust 3: Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov<\/p>\n
\u201cThe world will be watching Riyadh Season\u2019s Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford fight of the century on Netflix. And for that, I want to load the undercard with young, hungry fighters who deserve the chance to perform under the bright lights,\u201d said Turki Alalshikh to Ring Magazine, giving his rationale for picking the little-known fighters on the undercard.<\/p>\n
The fighters that Turki has selected for the Canelo-Crawford undercard are definitely \u201cyoung\u201d and \u201chungry.\u201d However, the fights that he has added to the card have failed to resonate with fans, and they\u2019re overlooked entirely. There is no buzz about the co-feature fight between Callum Walsh and Fernando Vargas Jr. It\u2019s the same with the rest of the undercard.<\/p>\n
Fans on social media aren\u2019t talking about the fights.<\/p>\n
In my view, the undercard has acted as dead weight, hurting the event more than helping it. Turki might as well have just eliminated the undercard and gone with the main event as the only fight on the September 13th card.<\/p>\n
Main Event is All That Matters<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the undercard about talent, because we have the biggest fight, we don\u2019t need a big fight in the undercard,\u201d said Turki to Sports Illustrated, explaining why the card lacks compelling fights.<\/p>\n
There it is, straight from Turki. He believes the Canelo-Crawford fight is \u2018The Fight of the Century,\u201d and that the event doesn\u2019t need big names on the undercard to create interest among fans to subscribe to Netflix to watch it.<\/p>\n
Bob Smith has been writing for Boxing News 24 since 2008, making him one of the site\u2019s longest-serving contributors. With well over a decade of experience, he has established himself as a senior boxing writer who delivers reliable coverage of the global fight scene.<\/p>\n
Bob\u2019s work includes fight reports, news pieces, and features that highlight both world champions and rising contenders, giving fans a clear view of the sport\u2019s past and present. Known for his consistency, accuracy, and deep understanding of boxing, Bob remains a trusted voice for readers looking to stay informed on the worldwide fight game.<\/p>\n
Boxing News 24<\/a> \u00bb Tim Bradley Blasts Turki Alalshikh\u2019s \u2018Garbage\u2019 Undercard for Canelo vs. Crawford, Asking \u201cWho the Hell These Dudes Is?\u201d<\/p>\nLast Updated on 09\/06\/2025 \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tim Bradley is critical of the undercard that Turki Alalshikh has assembled to support \u2018The Fight of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":119803,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-119802","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-boxing","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119802\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}