“We already knew Crawford is a great fighter. I did what I’m supposed to do. I try for every way, I trained really hard, and he deserves all the credit,” Alvarez told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight press conference.

“I tried my best tonight, and I just cannot figure out the style.”

Alvarez (63-3-2), long praised for handling triumph and heartbreak with equal class, made it clear Saturday night exactly how much respect he has for the man who just beat him. Crawford put on what many called a master class and a style that caused Alvarez problems.

“Everything. Everything. He have everything,” he said referring to what Crawford did that gave him issues.

Probably the biggest quote out of the press conference in the comparisons between Crawford and Mayweather. Alvarez has fought them both, albeit at different times in his career, and gave his opinion on who the better boxer is.

“I think Crawford is way better than Floyd Mayweather,” he said.

As the A-side of the matchup, Alvarez reportedly earned between $100 million and $150 million for the bout. With the bout now behind him Alvarez looked towards the future, but with no urgency to fight again soon.

“The only thing on my mind is I want to go enjoy my family, my daughter who was just born,” he said.

“In a few weeks I’ll speak with my team and we’ll figure out what the future looks like, but for sure good things are coming.”

Watch the entire press conference with Canelo Alvarez above.

The post Canelo Alvarez Admits Crawford Is “Way Better” Than Mayweather After Stunning Loss appeared first on Cageside Press.

“To be honest, when I set my sights on doing something, and I know what I’m capable of, it’s not like a surprise to me,” Crawford told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight press conference.

“It’s a surprise to ya’ll because ya’ll didn’t believe me. For me, I knew I could do it, and I believe that I could do it. I just needed the opportunity.”

Crawford (42-0) took the bout on the scorecards, 115-113, 115-113, 116-112, signaling a rather dominant victory over the now former lineal super middleweight champion of the world.

Bud knew early on that he would come out victorious on the night, and according to him, knew it for quite a while.

“When he signed the contract,” Crawford said.

On Saturday night, Crawford cemented his place in boxing history—becoming a five-division world champion, a four-division lineal king, and a three-time undisputed champion, among other remarkable accolades.

Which of those means the most to Crawford?

“All of it. It means a lot to me because anybody can be a nobody. That’s all they say I’ve been fighting is nobodies. So what can they say now? Somebody tell me what can you say now,” he said.

The acronym GOAT was thrown around immediately following the victory which throws Crawford into the same conversation as the undefeated Floyd Mayweather.

“Listen, Floyd was the greatest in his era. I’m the greatest in my era,” he said.

“It ain’t no need to compare me to Floyd or Floyd to me.”

Watch the entire post-fight presses with Terence Crawford above.

The post Terence Crawford Shocks the World, Declares Himself the Greatest of His Era appeared first on Cageside Press.

Canelo Alvarez, who had been accused of ducking some more deserving contenders in the last few years, was finally facing a consensus top3 pound-for-pound fighter. On the other hand, the undefeated Terence “Bud” Crawford was going up several weight divisions in an attempt to cement his place in boxing history. After being widely regarded as one of, if not the best boxer on Earth, Crawford was finally getting the big money fight he felt the sport of boxing owed him.

It was going to be interesting to see whether or not Canelo still had enough competitive fire within himself to defeat a Crawford who was coming in with a chip on his shoulder. Would Crawford’s power carry up to 168lbs? Would he be able to take Canelo’s shots? How would Crawford carry this extra weight into the championship rounds? Would it hinder his movement? This fight was filled with question marks, which only fueled the fan interest in the matchup.

Official Result: Terence Crawford def. Canelo Alvarez by Unanimous Decision (116-112, 115-113, 115-113)

First off, let’s make something very clear: the fight delivered. It wasn’t some uninteresting point fight or some squash match, the fight was an action-filled back-and-forth. The tone was set right from the start as Crawford’s speed advantage was noticeable. Without a rehydration clause, Canelo Alvarez definitely looked like the bigger fighter of the two, but not the extent that some had imagined. Canelo tried to bully Crawford, but Bud was having none of it. The Mexican had trouble finding the American throughout the bout. One of Canelo’s signature shots is his left hook to the body, which helps him slow down his opponent’s movement. However, Bud clearly did his homework as he was constantly setting his feet and making Canelo pay for every body hook he threw. Every time Canelo tried to hit Crawford to the body, Crawford would immediately answer with a snappy combination. Canelo’s chin was on full display the entire fight, as he took shots that Crawford has floored people with in the past.

About midway through the contest, as Canelo had Crawford focused on defending his body, he started finding opportunities to land some solid right straights upstairs. The American answered one of the main question marks heading into this contest: would he be able to take Canelo’s shots two divisions up? Yes, he could. You could sense Canelo’s growing frustration in the second half of the fight as Crawford was getting more and more comfortable. The commentary voiced some worry that this comfort could cost Crawford as he stopped respecting Canelo’s power. Ultimately, Crawford stayed defensively sound and Canelo never managed to land his power shots with any type of consistency that would lead to a fight altering moment.

As the final buzzer sounded, Crawford raised both of his hands while Canelo walked away Both fighters knew what the Omaha product had just accomplished. Canelo is a daunting task for anyone to face for several reasons, but in part because he pairs his insane chin with a history of favourable judges’ scorecards. How do you beat someone who seemingly cannot get knocked out and sees every remotely close round go his way? You need to put on such a good performance that you become undeniable. That’s something Dmitry Bivol managed to pull off, but the difference is Bivol was the heavier fighter welcoming Canelo to his weight class. Tonight, Crawford was the one going up two weight classes in an attempt to pull off the same thing. It’s a monumental accomplishment, to say the least. So much of Bud’s legacy hinged on this night and he fought like a man unafraid of the moment. These were two of the very best this generation has had to offer and we saw Crawford cement himself as perhaps the greatest one. Even with Naoya Inoue fighting just a few hours later, Crawford will likely take the number one spot on most pound-for-pound lists come Monday.

Coming into this fight, there was risk on both sides. Had Canelo won, people might have downplayed the victory, claiming that he was supposed to win. He was the much bigger fighter and that was the main reason he agreed to this fight as he’s been avoiding tougher challenges lately. As for Bud, had he lost, people would’ve claimed he couldn’t handle the moment in the biggest fight of his career. His only loss would’ve came against the “only good fighter he’s ever faced”. It’s a good thing the fight played out in a way that sees both fighters exiting with their heads held up high. Crawford pulled off the impossible, while Canelo still showed he’s a force to be reckoned with. He’s clearly passed his prime, but he’s not washed. The Mexican looked dangerous out there and would still be favoured to beat the vast majority of super middleweights.

I mentioned how there were question marks coming into this fight, but there are just as many now that the fight is over. Will the soon-to-be 38-year-old Crawford retire? It’s unclear at this moment in time. He said he had to sit down with his team and figure out what’s next. Comments that can be read as keeping the door open for a rematch. But if this was the last night we saw Terence “Bud” Crawford make the walk to the ring, it was one for the ages. He finally got a his big money fight and he used it to showcase his immense talent to the mainstream audience.

The post Instant Reaction: Terence Crawford Defeats Canelo Alvarez appeared first on Cageside Press.

“Listen I said props to Al Haymon. He slid right in there before we were even done with the weekend and took the date from use without MGM even telling us,” White told reporters at his post-fight press conference on Tuesday night.

“I told you before. Bill Hornbuckle’s trying to fix this whole thing. That’s why he gave me The Sphere this year. Sure we’ll get it figured out.”

Haymon runs Haymon Sports LLC which created Premiere Boxing Championships (PBC) which has a deal with Alvarez for three fights including the Sept 14 fight against Edgar Berlanga the same night as UFC 306 also known as Noche UFC.

White takes issue with MGM, who runs T-Mobile Arena, and described the relationship as disrespectful.

“When I say MGM it’s the guys who run the arena who have been literally disrespecting us since day 1 of the relationship. So now Bill Hornbuckle, the guy who runs MGM, had to get in the middle of this thing and try to fix it. That’s how I ended up at The Sphere,” he said.

“It’s a one and done. We’ll be back with MGM and hopefully Bill can figure this thing out between us and the f*cking guys that run the arena.”

On top of taking the date at the arena MGM is also guaranteeing the gate for the Alvarez-Berlanga card.

“Extra kick in the balls? Yeah that’s what they do. This is what these guys have done for the last however many years. It’s f*cking crazy,” White said.

“There’s a documentary coming out. I lay this sh*t all out in the documentary. You’ll hear every detail of what has happened with us and the MGM over the last 23 years. It’s f*cking crazy. You’ll be like ‘what?’.”

The relationship seems to have been on a sour note since day one.

“I just think that the guy who runs the arena has been a complete douchebag to us for 23 years,” he said.

White said he tried to get the date following Noche UFC in 2023, but was told it was already gone.

“They got the date. After that event I told my guy Pete ‘Get this date locked up next year again.’ It was already gone. Never called us, never asked us, never said ‘hey we’re giving the date away’. Never said f*ck you. Never said anything. We called and it was already gone,” he said.

“Listen Haymon and Canelo are just doing their thing. Props to them. Good for them that you guys could actually slide in and steal the date from us that easily without a phone call, without anything, good for you. I would too if that’s what I could do.”

When White said Hornbuckle is working on fixing the relationship between MGM and the UFC the obvious question would be if there was an out for the promotion to move on to other places.

“Our deal will be up eventually and we’ll have to figure that out,” he said.

As Noche UFC and Alvarez-Berlanga gets closer questions of who will win the weekend have been popping up from fans and media alike. White wasn’t sure exactly who would do the bigger numbers on Mexican Independence weekend.

“Who knows. MGM’s guaranteeing the gate. Who knows what the gate will really be. What I’m focused on, on that weekend, is putting on a show that nobody’s ever seen before. This show is so complex, and there’s so many different moving pieces to this, this thing being seamless and going off the way that I want. I’m more focused on that than any of this other MGM bullsh*t,” said White.

Noche UFC takes place at The Sphere on Sept 14 headlined by the UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley defending his title against Merab Dvalishvili and co-headlined by the trilogy between flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and former champion Valentina Shevchenko.

The post Dana White Details Issues With MGM That Led To Sphere Card appeared first on Cageside Press.

On tonight’s show ONE Championship made their US debut at ONE Fight Night 10 in Denver, Colorado on Friday. Eddie Law was on location covering the event and talks behind the scenes, what working with ONE is like, the fights, the fighters and much more!

Then UFC 288 went down Saturday night in what turned out to be a great card in Newark, New Jersey. Cageside Press was on location covering the event that saw Belal Muhammad claim his spot in the title picture, and Aljamain Sterling turning away Henry Cejudo in the main event.

Sean O’Malley is next for the bantamweight champion and he was in the octagon following the main event to face off with Sterling, but his jacket disappeared for a second. Get yourself a friend like Merab Dvalishvili.

Conor McGregor took to twitter following UFC 288 to post a congratulations to Sterling and some coaching advice for Cejudo. Brandon Moreno took to social media to call out the former flyweight and bantamweight champion.

Tony Ferguson was arrested early Sunday morning and charged with DUI after he allegedly crashed his truck into two vehicles and then flipped it outside of a Hollywood nightclub. Nobody was reported to be hurt.

All of this and more on Keyboard Warriors TONIGHT!!!

Watch the entire show above.

The post Keyboard Warriors Live: UFC 288, ONE Championship, Tony’s In Trouble appeared first on Cageside Press.

Speaking to Cageside Press, among other media, Paul went after Diaz following an altercation that went down earlier in the night between Diaz’s team and his own.

“Nate Diaz was here acting like a b*tch. Everyone wants that fight. He tried to fight people in the hallway. Nate, stop fighting people for free, let’s do it in the ring ok? I know you’re a little slow buddy, but it’s ok we can make that fight happen,” Paul said.

Cageside Press was on hand to capture part of the backstage altercation between Team Diaz and Team Paul.

Something just popped off in the back between what looks like Nate Diaz and his team with possibly Jake Paul’s team. #PaulSilva pic.twitter.com/A9FN2ba7c4

— Cageside Press (@Cagesidepress) October 30, 2022

Paul was reportedly unaware of the incident before his fight, but was informed following the end of the main event.

“I haven’t seen the video and I didn’t really know what happened. I just know there was an altercation with my team. I was focused on what was going on, but I was made aware of it afterwards and it’s typical of him. That’s what he likes to do. He’s a street gangster,” said Paul.

“He likes to act tough and he’s really not. Why you trying to beat someone up in the hallway bro?”

Paul also called out Canelo Alvarez who is coming off a decision victory of Gennady Golovkin.

“You too Canelo. You’re getting old. You looked weird against GGG. I still want that fight as well. And I think now, I said it 18-months ago ‘I want Canelo!’ I was sitting in a room just like this and everyone was like ‘haha, f*cking idiot’. Now 18-months later here we are and when I say that maybe people are taking it a little bit more seriously now,” he said.

“I still meant it, and I still want that fight.”

One other person on Paul’s mind was UFC president Dana White who made it clear he has grown tired of answering questions about Paul.

“Dana! Dana! Dana! Bro….you said I wouldn’t do this and I did it. And with flying colors. He’s in hiding. He’s trying to do everything he can to stop my run, to sabotage my fight, he hates me. He hates me, he hates what I’m doing, he hates I’m exposing his business and now…we’re going to band together (he and Anderson Silva) and create a united fighter’s association,” Paul said.

“To help UFC fighters, all MMA fighters, and boxers to get more fighter pay, longterm healthcare. That’s a big undertaking that I’ve been wanting to do for the whole time of my career. So man, Dana White can suck this d*ck.”

Watch the entire post-fight press conference with Jake Paul above.

The post Jake Paul Calls Out Nate Diaz, Canelo, Then Sends Message To Dana White appeared first on Cageside Press.

Jorge Masvidal will be the latest fighter to join the ranks of high profile mixed martial artists to provide commentary on boxing, as it was announced on Monday that he would serve as a commentator on this Saturday’s boxing match between superstar Canelo Alvarez and Avni Yildrim.  First reported by ESPN, Masvidal will be featured on ESPN’s Spanish broadcast of the fight in Latin America.

This will not be Masvidal’s first foray behind the microphone.  In 2019, “Gamebred” did double-duty in appearing on both the English and Spanish broadcasts for Combate Americas’ pay-per-view event headlined by Tito Ortiz and Alberto Rodriguez.  In that instance, Masvidal sat with the English broadcast team for part of the card before going to join the Spanish broadcast team for the main event.  Masvidal has notably taken aim at fighting Alvarez in the past, telling ESPN he was “dead serious” about taking on the Mexican superstar in a boxing bout.  In a statement to TMZ, Alvarez had said he would not be opposed to it in saying “Why not?” when asked about the fight.

Masvidal is the latest in a series of high profile mixed martial artists taking their talents to the microphone to commentate on boxing.  Last December, current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya served as part of the broadcast team for the pay-per-view exhibition bout between Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr.  Earlier this week, it was announced that former UFC and boxing champion Holly Holm will co-host the upcoming all-female boxing pay-per-view event headlined by her new teammate Claressa Shields against Marie-Eva Dicaire.

Canelo Alvarez will be looking to record his sixth consecutive victory as he takes on his WBC mandatory challenger Avni Yildrim on Saturday.  Widely considered one of the best boxers in the sport today, Alvarez is one of the top draws in the world following victories over “GGG” Gennady Golovkin, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, and Sergei Kovalev.  Avni Yildrim goes into the bout with a 21-2 record and is coming off a technical decision loss after his bout with Anthony Dirrell was stopped due to a cut caused by an accidental head butt.

The post Jorge Masvidal to Commentate Canelo vs. Yildrim on ESPN Latin America appeared first on Cageside Press.

Los Angeles, CA — While the MMA world anticipates McGregor vs. Nurmagomedov, on the boxing side, fans are awaiting the rematch of one of last year’s biggest fights: Canelo vs. GGG 2. In the original, Canelo Álvarez and Gennady Golovkin fought to a split draw through twelve rounds. That pretty much guaranteed a sequel, which arrives next month, almost a year to the date after the original fight.

Canelo Alvarez has not fought since last year’s draw, while Golovkin picked up a win in May. Of course, that May 5 win over Vanes Martirosyan was supposed to have been a fight against Alvarez. However, Alvarez tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol in March, leading to a retroactive six month suspension.

Lest anyone question USADA’s work, it’s rare to see a UFC fighter earn less than a year away from the business for a failed test.

Over the weekend, Cageside Press had a chance to speak with GGG promoter Tom Loeffler, about drug testing for the bout, and bringing it all together.

“The most difficult thing was getting both guys to agree on the final terms,” Loeffler said of the overall process. “We were very close for a long time, but until we actually had the final agreement, the fight wasn’t done.”

As for drug testing, “if the commission allows it, both guys are doing VADA testing,” he said. “This is the longest Canelo has been testing. GGG started testing right after the May 5 fight. So, you know, there’s only so much you can do.” That said, it sounds like GGG’s camp is trying not to worry about things outside their control. “Right now, everyone’s focused on the fight. GGG is very motivated. He’s going to put on even more pressure than the first time.”

If you think this might be the last big boxing match for GGG, think again. “There’s a lot of big fights for GGG,” Loeffler suggested. “Billy Joe Saunders, he’s got the WBO title. [Ryota] Murata is out there. There’s a lot of big fights. Ramirez, El Zurdo Ramirez at 168. You never know what’s going to happen after that. But right now, he’s focused September 15. I think after this, a lot of options are going to be open to him.”

The post It’s Not Just MMA Wrangling PEDs: Tom Loeffler Discusses Deal, Drug Testing for Canelo vs. GGG 2 appeared first on Cageside Press.