Crawford vs Madrimov lost upwards of ten million dollars and was a monetary failure as Turki Alalshikh brought Riyadh Season to the United States.
Terence Crawford added a fourth-weight world title to his resume and reinstated himself as the pound-for-pound king on August 3 in Los Angeles. However, the event itself burned through cash and was unsustainable as a long-term project.
Putting together what Eddie Hearn labeled as the ‘Biggest boxing card in United States history’ in a blurb not many in the sport agreed with came at a mighty cost for Alalshikh and his backer, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.
Alalshikh emerged as Crawford’s driving force after years of the Omaha man being overlooked by the media. The Riyadh Season figurehead managed to stir up more attention than ‘Bud’ has ever enjoyed before, but only in the event that he lost eight figures, according to respected boxing writer Kevin Iole.
“The Crawford-Madrimov card in Los Angeles last week, the first Riyadh Season event put on by the Saudis in the U.S., likely lost more than $10M, several sources told KevinIole. com. The pay-per-view sales were negligible,” said Iole on his website KevinIole.com.
Commenting on the show, Alalshikh said, “Riyadh Season Card in Los Angeles was a night to remember. Great fights, great audience, and a great atmosphere overall.”
Crawford vs Madrimov’s mixed reviews
Replies to the video on social media weren’t all good, though.
“Rigged giveaways, started at 1 am, and basically Crawford got schooled,” said @JorgePerezcrtz.
Another added, “Lmao, losing 10 million dollars over paying Crawford and Pitbull Cruz. I’d be mad as f***, and I wouldn’t forget.”
A third stated, “Put together a bunch of fights no one asked for and then stood by and let Madrimov get robbed. Bud is finished. Glad I didn’t buy this SHOW-ONLY event.”
There were some good comments, too.
“Thanks for putting on a spectacular event, Turki,” said @steveosly.”
Another said, “I would like to express my deep gratitude for your significant support of boxing in the Kingdom. Your continuous efforts contribute to the development of the sport and encourage young people to practice and excel in it.”
Those who didn’t take kindly to the event urged Alalshikh to land Canelo and turn a profit. That could prove impossible for Alalshikh, though, as an outburst in the days that followed all but ruled out the pair ever working together.
Alalshikh accused Canelo of taking easy fights. That’s not how to get into the Mexican superstar’s good books.
By Phil Jay