NEW YORK, NY — I had no intention of covering Fanatics Fest at the Javits Center in New York City. Dealing with massive crowds, attempting to get a one-on-one with an icon or current star would be unlikely. No, leave that hoopla to the younger guys and gals taking over sports media.
I have interviewed them all, except the Pope. I have gone one-on-one with the greats in all levels of sports. And with a passion for boxing, an opportunity to chat with a champion, icon, or contender is a tip of the iceberg. I have written numerous words, told the story for 43 years.
Sunday afternoon at the Javits Center, an opportunity to chat with Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford, considered to experts as two of the top fighters in the industry, never occurred. I am not disappointed. Having met and talked to both fighters numerous times prior and after their championship fights.
However, this was a production. Alvarez and Crawford on the second stop of a world wide media tour to promote their mega fight September 13th at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and streamed live on the perfect platform of Netflix, and who doesn’t hold an account with the streaming leader?
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A press conference perfect for the King, Alvarez, the undisputed champion with all the belts at super middleweight, And Crawford, the two division champion who vacated the IBF welterweight title, moved up to junior middleweight at 154, won another belt (interim-WBA 154) because boxing politics allows this.
Crawford will move up two weight classes with attempts to achieve more boxing history, and many look at him to dethrone Alvarez, still good but at 34 years of age, the skills have diminished. Just review his last few fights against Jaime Munguía and Edgar Berlanga. He hasn’t stopped an opponent in four years after winning a part of his undisputed 168-pound titles over Celeb Plant. It’s no longer a certain wager that Alvarez will dispose his opponent within eight rounds.
However, to Turki Alashikh, head of Riyadh Season, and with pockets full of money that has taken boxing to a different level. He put this fight in motion. The logistics got complicated as to where, streaming rights, and shifting a UNLV college football game to another day in order to secure the venue.
And when the master Dana White got involved, who built the UFC to epic proportions, Turki had the perfect partner. White with the TKO Endeavor rights that also includes WWE will be promoting his first boxing venture. The fight is for fans, the sport of boxing, and of course whoever wins will be so declared the best of this generation.
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The incentive is a $5 million knockout purse to assure this will be competitive, as to say Alvarez and Crawford won’t be paid mega millions they will earn from purses and streaming revenue?
Of course, it’s about the money, Turki has a pocket full. Of course the knockout bonus is unprecedented, but Turki wants a competitive fight after his Ring Magazine “Fatal Fury”mega card full of superstars on May 1st, a restricted area of Times Square in New York City, resulted in a debacle of disappointment.
Fighters got mega purses, and Teofimo Lopez defending a junior welterweight title at a weight of 147 saved the evening for something to brag about.
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So Alvarez and Crawford have been in the works, and talked about the past few years. It was logistics, where, and when? They respect each other, even broke bread with courtesy and had a feast with Turki in Saudi Arabia earlier last week on the first leg of their press tour in Saudi Arabia.
That first presser, no dramatics. No pushing and shoving. Both fighters explained who was better and why. They were diplomats. Two champions and elite fighters of this generation promoting a clash that needs no hype, too many mega fights of this century. Where have we heard that in the past? Just recently Ryan Garcia versus Devin Haney, and Gervonta Davis opposing Garcia, they were mega fights and a disappointment.
Sometimes billing a fight with hype doesn’t live up to expectations, but this should result as a good one with the assumption nothing will go wrong between now and September 13th. They will tangle in a bigger ring, Alvarez is accustomed to being in a smaller setting. Could be an advantage for Crawford.
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Regardless, allow me to go back to the Javits Center presser because a fight that needs no hype got more interesting. Yes, selling a fight of this magnitude is important to Alvarez and Crawford as well as to the promotion.
And to Dana White who loves the drama of UFC fireworks and increasing the hostility with his TKO involvement with WWE. Like the post show WWE PLE event press conferences, this one at Fanatics Fest was staged. Boxing media, who were they? Certainly not the regulars of YouTubers and bloggers I sit now at ringside.
Questions were obviously scripted, and those who got the opportunity to ask had to glance at their phones. What happened to the off the cuff question? The follow ups to White, Crawford, and Alvarez were useless.
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This was staged theatre, similar to Fanatics Fest of last August when Jake Paul and Mike Tyson held a presser at the Javits Center to hype their bogus fight that held to the script.
“I’m gonna tell you like this, I respect Canelo,” said Crawford. “I respect Canelo, just like I respect every one of my other opponents before Canelo. But once it gets close to that time, It’s time to go to work. When we go to work y’all know what comes after that.”
And the response from Alvarez, “You hear that? We are professionals and when we step in the ring, it’s gonna be different.”
Both fighters smiled. Hardly had a chance to shake hands. Crawford hardly displays emotion when he isn’t in the ring and Dana White selected the media who would ask questions of little substance. He left the dramatics to a returning Max Kellerman who officiated the proceedings and build up of Alvarez and Crawford. Kellerman is a part of the broadcast talent and hasn’t been around ringside since HBO abandoned boxing five years ago.
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Little room to analyze here about who will win and why? Leave that for another time. But after that quiet and peaceful dinner in Saudi Arabia it was a matter of time, of course the concluding face off and in boxing, this has become WWE theatre.
Alvarez and Crawford posed, side-by side. It was coming. A push and light shove from Alvarez to Crawford. Both separated and escorted from the podium, bad words between the two. The peace in Arabia was quickly broken, egos or something else?
Pure boxing theatre and a script that went to perfection. A fight that needs no hype and will sellout to over 65,000 in Las Vegas. Drama came to the table and that sells more in boxing.
Only thing remaining is the epilogue in a few months. The fight won’t be a script. But between now and then, after what we witnessed Sunday at Fanatics Fest, who knows?
Rich Mancuso is a senior writer and columnist at LatinoSports.com – X: @Ring786, Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso
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