Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh has confirmed that Dana White will no longer promote Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford.
The UFC president had been appointed the lead promoter for the blockbuster showdown under the TKO Boxing banner.
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In March, TKO Group Holdings, the American media conglomerate that owns UFC and WWE, signed a multi-year partnership to establish a boxing league with the financial backing of Saudi Arabia.
The deal brought business powerhouses Alalshikh, White, and WWE president Nick Khan together in a move that promised to change the face of boxing.
Canelo vs Crawford was set to be TKO Boxing’s maiden event.
However, Alalshikh has confirmed that the money-spinning super fight will now be promoted by Sela for Riyadh Season instead.
In addition, the bout has been moved from September 12 to September 13, the same day as UFC 320.
“We have confirmed the promoter for Canelo v Crawford will be Sela for Riyadh Season,” tweeted Alalshikh.
“The broadcaster we have not decided yet, but the date will be Saturday, 13th September. More details soon.”
Alalshikh had initially announced that the fight would take place at the 65,000-seater Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, home to NFL side The Raiders.
However, the state-of-the-art venue is booked up for a college football game between the UNLV Rebels and Idaho State on the same day as Canelo-Crawford.
According to Ring Magazine, the broadcaster and venue for the event are yet to be decided upon.
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Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New York City are all reportedly potential host candidates.
The event will also be shown live on PPV and not on Netflix as previously suggested.
Crawford will move up two weight classes from super welterweight to super middleweight to challenge Canelo for the undisputed crown.
Canelo unified all four major sanctioning body belts by beating William Scull earlier this month in a low-output affair.
Despite the weight disparity, there will be no rehydration clause inserted into their contracts.
If Crawford gets his hand raised, then he will become the first male three-weight undisputed champion in the four-belt era after previously reigning supreme over the super lightweight and welterweight divisions.
