Boxing fans recognize the value of Saturday’s Los Angeles card – the U.S. debut show from Saudi Arabia power broker Turki Alalshikh.
But for the sport to truly connect, it needs to resonate with the mainstream audience, and that effort has thus far been a mixed bag saddled by questionable scheduling, iffy local market knowledge and lacking personalities.
Industry experts have wondered out loud why this card arrives right as the world’s sporting audience is transfixed on the Olympics.
They wonder why there’s a big fight in Los Angeles without a Mexican fighter in the main event.
And they’re stumped by why the ticket system has been both overpriced and showing panic signs with discounts now being offered.
“If you pay attention to ticket sales, they’re not doing that hot,” Hall of Fame Southern California fighter Timothy Bradley Jr. said on Monday’s episode of ProBox TV’s “Deep Waters,” which explored the card headlined by three-division champion Terence Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) seeking a fourth division belt against new World Boxing Association junior-middleweight champion Israil Madrimov on DAZN, ESPN and PPV.com.
“Terence is a tremendous fighter. He still hasn’t reached that super-stardom just yet. His last fight (a stirring ninth-round TKO of former three-belt welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr.) was a year ago and I don’t think he’s taken full advantage of that (monstrous victory).”
Crawford, 36, long aggravated his former promoter Top Rank with his disinterest in promotion.
Anyone who spends time with him learns quickly how witty, intelligent and personable he can be. It’s just that he doesn’t feel obligated to share that with all, and thus his ticket sales have languished outside his native Nebraska.
Placing him against an also-talented new champion who doesn’t speak English in Madrimov complicates the equation, and that’s why many see the anchors who’ll boost ticket sales as co-main-event fighter Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz of Mexico in his first 140-pound title defense and former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr.
“‘Pitbull’ Cruz brings a lot of eyes – he can sell,” Bradley said.
The “Deep Waters” cast debated whether Alalshikh considered these nuances at all, or whether it’s just an opportunity to promote Saudi Arabia and its Riyadh Season global vacation destination.
“Crawford is an exceptional fighter, but the ‘it’ factor … you need a little bit,” former welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi said on “Deep Waters.” “In the ring, Terence is an expert at capturing the moment. Outside … he’s been around long enough.”
Astute boxing fans have a fuller knowledge of who Crawford is. He’s not interested in giving you a warm smile like Sugar Ray Leonard. He won’t play the game of turning heel for entertainment’s sake. He’s a pure fighter, and if you enjoy boxing, then he’s quality viewing.
“The dude’s the most competitive guy I’ve met,” said Bradley, who met Crawford more than a decade ago when the young fighter was summoned to train alongside him in Indio, Calif., under the same trainer, Joel Diaz, who trains Madrimov now.
There’s intriguing stories like that around Crawford, including his interest to win Saturday and parlay that into an Alalshikh card headed by Crawford versus four-division champion Canelo Alvarez.
In an Instagram reel recorded Sunday at the site of his fight, BMO Stadium, Crawford displayed a slice of his genuine character by bantering with Madrimov’s British promoter Eddie Hearn over the fight, past opponent Ricky Burns and an owed room-service debt.
“That’s the real Terence Crawford right there … he wasn’t promoting. He was being himself,” Bradley said.
Similarly, Malignaggi suggested Alalshikh requires some slight guidance, too, over bringing fans the best fights and matchups.
Bradley argued it’s not Alalshikh’s fault that crossover stars are lacking in the sport, especially in America.
The good thing, suggested analyst Chris Algieri, is that Alalshikh is producing a steady number of high-quality cards, keeping talented fighters active and improving their opportunities to boost their brands, as the heavyweights fighting for him in Saudi Arabia have done.
“The thriving heavyweight division is because of this man,” Algieri said.
Saturday’s card is intended to flex those strides, and bringing all of the sport’s top American promoters into the same stadium may very well accomplish Alalshikh’s desired outcome.
But if he asks them for their honest opinion about how his first step into the U.S. market has fared, they’ll certainly let him know it’s left something to be desired.
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