Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford NYC Presser: Things Got Spicy At Fanatics Fest

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The second stop of the three-city press tour for the September 13 fight on Netflix between undisputed super middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) and Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) did not disappoint.

Sunday’s presser was held at “Fanatics Fest,” which was hosted by the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. This is the second annual event for Fanatics, a company based in Jacksonville, FL, and led by its founder and CEO, Michael Rubin. Last year’s event had over 75,000 fans meet their favorite athletes, celebrities, and WWE superstars, with this year’s event looking to reach 100,000 fans throughout the three-day fest. With all of the fanfare this event receives, it was only right that the Canelo vs. Crawford press tour made a stop on the last day of the event.

“Let’s Get Ready To Rumble”

There was no question that Turki Alalshikh read and heard all of the reactions from the “gentlemen’s” press conference held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Friday, as Sunday’s presser was what the fans were looking for. Right from the start, Michael Buffer came out to set the tone of what was a ruckus crowd at the Javits Center in NYC. Once Buffer hit his iconic line, “Let’s get ready to rumble,” the crowd in attendance was ready to see their favorite fighter walk up on stage.

Crawford was the first to be announced as he was showered with boos by the NYC crowd. When Buffer announced him as a four-time champion, Crawford quickly shouted, “five time,” implying that he would beat Canelo to make him a five-time champion. When Canelo was announced, he was welcomed with a loud ovation, which played to the star power he has wherever he goes. Then, chants of “Canelo” filled the room before everyone settled down.

Alalshikh was then called up to the podium as he had his own entrance. Alalshikh began by thanking everyone, adding that this is the biggest event in boxing, and then specifically called out WWE President Nick Khan when he said that Khan “convinced me that something like this can happen.” It’s no secret that Khan’s relationship with Alalshikh has grown with the WWE, leading to him being appointed as part of the group formed for the new TKO boxing promotion. Khan’s place in all of this is significant, and he will play a big part in future events with Riyadh Season.

Dana White Goes Front And Center

Missing from Friday’s press conference was Dana White, who is the CEO of the TKO-formed boxing promotion. White announced earlier in the week that Zuffa Boxing would be the name of his outfit, which had long been associated with him throughout the years when he stated that he would soon be involved in the boxing industry. White was called up front, and he immediately went into the Q&A portion of the press conference. This was different in a good way, as press conferences, as of late in boxing, would typically have a ton of questions from the host and none from the media until after the event was over. This time, the media in attendance was able to ask Canelo and Crawford questions first.

Crawford, who clearly has embraced the villain role or the “heel” of this event, used hand gestures to provoke the crowd while saying all of the things that he knew would get the pro-Canelo crowd fired up. Crawford said, “I’m hurting him and taking everything he’s got.” He later added, “This is my time.”

Canelo was initially calm but very confident. He opened up by saying, “This is going to be one of my best victories of my career.” When asked later whether he would be making an appearance on WWE programming, given the involvement of Khan in the promotion, Canelo said, “Maybe. We are talking about it. Maybe you see me in the WWE.”

Max Kellerman Is Back

One of the surprises on Friday was former HBO & ESPN analyst & commentator Max Kellerman doing a voiceover on the Canelo-Crawford promo. This was the first time Kellerman had been heard from in two years, so there were questions about whether this was a one-off or he was entirely back. At Sunday’s press conference, Kellerman was brought to the stage and announced as part of the broadcast team for the September 13 event on Netflix.

Kellerman, at the podium, received a nice ovation from the crown before sounding like he was on HBO again with his storytelling style of speaking. It was a bit of nostalgia and well-received by everyone in attendance and likely those watching. Kellerman continued with the theme of this fight being a “perfect storm” and again brought up the comparisons of Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Marvin Hagler. Still on his soapbox, Kellerman needed to give White a rub as he called him the “greatest combat sports promoter ever.” That was a little much, but I guess you have to say those things when talking about the person who is cutting your check.

The Face-Off Got Heated

When the presser was over, and it was time for the face-off, Canelo rushed Crawford, and not being caught by surprise, Crawford welcomed it. They got really close to each other, started talking trash, and then Canelo shoved Crawford, causing a scene on the stage. Things got heated pretty quickly, and they didn’t even get to take traditional face-off photos for the cameras up front. Canelo-Crawford went from being a gentleman’s presser on Friday to getting down and dirty on Sunday. Now, anticipation is building for the September 13 event on Netflix.

Other Tidbits

There was a moment where Kellerman said that Canelo-Crawford would be the biggest event in boxing history. Shortly after that, Alalshikh interrupted and said from his nearby seat, “Until the rematch.” Oh, so we’re already talking rematch, huh? It’s not unusual for a fight of this magnitude to have a rematch clause, but for Alashikh to say that raises questions about the potential decision in this fight if it goes to the scorecards.

Before White headed out, someone asked about the knockout incentive bonus that Alalshikh mentioned at Friday’s presser. White answered that it would be “over six figures” but that they were still working it out.

Overall, this was a much better press conference than the one in Riyadh on Friday. Crawford looked like the Crawford we saw leading up to the Spence fight while Canelo finally put on his game face. With Las Vegas being the last stop on the press tour, look for things to get even more heated as Canelo-Crawford looks to surpass last year’s Paul-Tyson event in overall viewership on Netflix.

Abraham Gonzalez

Abraham Gonzalez is the founder of FightsATW. His journalistic work has been published and used across several platforms to include online, network TV and promotional companies. He is an American Public University alumnus and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). Abraham was the Managing Editor for NYFights, Big Fight Weekend, contributed to FanSidedMMA and ProBoxTV.

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