Turki Alalshikh Questions Boxing Pound-for-Pound Ranking System as Naoya Inoue Overtakes Terence Crawford

Allan Binoy | 07/05/2024
Turki Alalshikh Questions Boxing Pound-for-Pound Ranking System as Naoya Inoue Overtakes Terence Crawford

Turki Alalshikh’s contribution to the growth of boxing in Saudi Arabia is irrefutable. An adviser at the Royal Court, Alalshikh currently holds the position of Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority. Using this position he has organized several mega fights, including the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Uysk. However, while his love for boxing is quite evident, the Saudi Arabian national recently spoke up about a flaw in the post.

Alalshikh believes that Terence Crawford should not have lost the number one spot. This is why he took to X to call out the boxing authorities for the recent changes in the P4P list, saying,

“Inoue is a great boxer, but Crawford is the pound-for-pound number one. I don’t know how the ranking works or if there’s a clear criteria, but it seems like there are some personal opinions and inaccuracies involved.”

Terence Crawford is a great boxer and definitely one of the best of this generation. However, he has stayed away from the sport for over a year, and as a boxer, especially in regards to the P4P list, being active is a necessity. On the other hand, Naoya Inoue has been way more active and even faced some top-level competition.

Still, from the looks of it, Turki Alalshikh has a soft corner for Crawford, as he believes the American should still hold the top position. In fact, he is already working on setting up Crawford’s next big fight in Saudi Arabia, where he will potentially take on Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez.

Turki Alalshikh reveals plans to set up a mega fight between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford

Turki Alalshikh has proved time and again that he is capable of pulling off mega-fights. He is the reason Saudi Arabia has hosted so many huge boxing matches in the recent past. Now, he looks to continue this tradition with the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk fight. However, he already has his eyes set on the next fight as he revealed in a conversation with ESPN,

“I’m working to deliver [Canelo], but it will be a big fight [for Crawford]. I’ll discuss the names with him.”

The weight difference between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford is quite considerable. The Mexican fighter fights at a weight more than 10 lbs heavier than ‘Bud’ and that weight translates to a lot more power. While this might prove to be a challenging obstacle for Alalshikh, fans have been calling for Alvarez to take on David Benavidez. Hence, only time can tell if Turki Alalshikh can work his magic again and deliver a super fight for the Saudi Arabian boxing fans.

Post Edited By: Shraman Mitra
Naoya Inoue Terence Crawford

About the author

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Allan Binoy

Allan Binoy is a MMA journalist at The SportsRush. Taken to the sport in 2015, thanks to a certain Conor McGregor, Allan has himself dabbled in the martial arts. And having graduated from Loyola College, Chennai, with a degree in English Literature, he has learnt to use his love for language to have a voice in the MMA community. Allan has been writing about the gladiatorial stories for more than three years now and has pursued excellence at a number of reputable media organizations, covering every UFC PPV in the last couple of years. In addition to this, the southpaw is also a semi-professional soccer player for Diego Juniors FC in Pune, playing in the Pune Super Division League.

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