Terence Crawford defeated Canelo Alvarez before the “largest crowd ever assembled for a boxing match in Nevada,” with an announced attendance of 70,482 Saturday night at Allegiant Stadium. Crawford became the “first boxer ever to capture the undisputed championship in a third weight class” by upsetting Alvarez via unanimous decision. Crawford “looked superior from the onset.” He had “pursued a mega-bout for years with Canelo, who was originally uninterested.” That started to “change as Crawford maintained his undefeated record” — now 42-0 — and “became a bigger draw.” The “biggest factor” was General Entertainment Authority Chair Turki Al-Sheikh “committing to make the fight happen.” Boxing’s “biggest power player reportedly guaranteed Canelo at least” $100M for the fight, which aired live on Netflix free to subscribers. Crawford said that he took the fight for $10M. The bout “could usher in a new era for the sport as it was the first event promoted” by Al-Sheikh in partnership with UFC President Dana White. The two were “front and center ringside and plan to launch a larger boxing promotion next year” (LAS VEGAS SUN, 9/13).
The event was a “smashing success at the box office for White’s first foray into the sport.” White said, “It was an incredible weekend for our company and a great weekend for the city. We brought over 70,000 people to the city this weekend. I’m tired of all the (expletive) Las Vegas is hurting talk. Tonight was incredible.” The 70,482 broke the “state record at a boxing match set in 1982 when Larry Holmes fought Gerry Cooney in a temporary outdoor arena at Caesars Palace.” It is “the largest crowd to attend any sporting event at Allegiant Stadium and set the venue’s single-day live gate record by pulling in $47,231,887.” Only the 2015 fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao ($72.2M) and the 2017 fight between Mayweather and UFC star Conor McGregor ($55.4M) brought in more (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 9/13).
The crowd broke the Allegiant Stadium record of 63,969 set for the LSU-USC college football game in September 2024. The bout “could usher in a new era for the sport as it was the first event promoted” by Al-Sheikh in partnership with UFC President Dana White. The two were “front and center ringside and plan to launch a larger boxing promotion next year” (LAS VEGAS SUN, 9/13). Attendance topped the previous record of 63,969 set for the LSU-USC college football game in September 2024. Alalshikh said, “We have the opportunity now to do something for boxing. We are close to something big in the future with Netflix. Long relationship. This is important.” He said that boxing was considered the No. 24 sport in the U.S. when he and his partners became involved and had since moved to No. 9. Al-Sheikh: “I hope to be one of the top five.” He did not specify the metric for the ranking (SBJ).
