Over the weekend, the two participant's in September's biggest fight faced on a press tour with stops in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and New York City. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (pictured) will defend his undisputed super middleweight championship against multi-division champ Terence Crawford on September 13th at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. But this past weekend, there was a press conference and a face-off, where the highly anticipated fight between two of today’s elite  boxers was promoted. The conference began with a lot of respect for each other, with both taking to the microphones to praise each otherl:

 

Alvarez said, “He’s a great fighter. I’ve been in this situation many times. I’m motivated, I want to make history with this fight. I’m a winner. I always think about winning.” 

 

Crawford said, “I asked for Canelo because he’s a great fighter. He’s fought [Miguel] Cotto, [Floyd] Mayweather, GGG [Gennady Golovkin] in mega-fights. And this is my mega-fight, it’s my moment, that’s why I asked to face Canelo, He’s one of the best boxers I’ll face in my career. I’m going to prepare for everything.”

 

But little by little, the tension began to rise when the Mexican recalled that he rejected a fight against Crawford, arguing that he had nothing to gain and that he would win this fight: “He’s not going to beat me. I think this fight will go down in boxing history. I hope he doesn’t run, because people deserve to see a good fight. I hope he puts up a good fight. I know my abilities and I’m very confident about them,” said the 168-pound champion. 

 

Crawford simply said that he would take the belts and assured that he was different from the Mexican’s other rivals: “I’m going to take your belts, I’m going to take them home. They’re on their way, I know it. You’re going to remember, I want you to remember, that’s the intention, for you to remember.”

 

Tensions exploded in New York when both boxers took offense at each other’s statements.  Dana White, the promoter of the fight, asked Crawford if he wanted to wear his belts for the photo, but the American replied that he didn’t because he would soon be carrying “Canelo’s” on his shoulders.  This irritated Alvarez who pushed his rival during the confrontation.