Inside a wild weekend with Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford

THE RAIN FEELS similar needle pricks pelting down connected umbrellas and faces connected Sunday greeting successful New York City. And yet, Canelo Alvarez is wearing sunglasses.

He's connected the 2nd limb of a three-leg circuit to beforehand his upcoming Sept. 13 mega-fight against Terence Crawford. Most of the assembled media underneath the Javits Center is either shaking retired oregon saying goodbye to their umbrellas -- raindrops implicit New York City connected an 80-plus grade time successful June ever look to person a small other mustard connected them.

But Alvarez is adust and gleaming. Earlier that morning, helium had purchased a shiny new, special-edition Jacob & Co. ticker for a small nether $500,000, paid for connected his no-max recognition card. Maybe that's wherefore helium needs the sunglasses.

"Almost a fractional million," helium clarifies. But helium has a big, wide grin erstwhile helium says that. He's arrogant of his purchase.

He plows done astir 30 minutes of a dependable drawstring of interviewers introducing themselves and past turning connected a camera successful his face. So, the sunglasses commencement to consciousness similar preventative oculus wellness attraction alternatively than a manner statement, boredom disguise oregon hangover disguise. The literal glare helium is nether each time is an optometry nightmare.

Canelo doesn't grin often oregon get animated during interviews. The lone clip helium shows immoderate emotion is erstwhile helium talks astir play (man, Canelo Alvarez loves golf). The remainder of the time, helium is each concern hyping the fight, which, whether you recognize it yet oregon not, is going to beryllium a large infinitesimal successful immoderate sports fan's beingness travel Sept. 13 connected Netflix. It's the archetypal Zuffa Boxing event, promoted by Dana White, arsenic portion of the TKO brand. And it features astir apt the 2 best, astir important fighters of the post-Mayweather era. For die-hard fans who person grey hairs oregon nary hairsbreadth astatine each due to the fact that of however often the champion boxers person circled each different and ne'er really fought implicit the past 25 years, this is Propecia.

"This is truthful immense for boxing," Canelo says. "I'm gladsome to beryllium progressive with these kinds of fights that truthful galore radical tin see. Everybody has Netflix."

Half an hr later, successful a country 20 feet away, Crawford is adjacent much subdued, doing the aforesaid gauntlet of interviews. And they some inactive person to bash the quality league aboriginal that afternoon. It's hard to blasted the fighters for not cracking jokes and dancing for the cameras. The full radical was successful Saudi Arabia 48 hours earlier, past flew to NYC for this lawsuit astatine Fanatics Fest, past they're each disconnected to Las Vegas for the last halt connected Friday.

This is each concern for them, and based connected a definite caller photo, that's however fans privation it.

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THE PICTURE is making radical precise grumpy.

Turki Alalshikh, the antheral astir liable for making this combat happen, posted a photograph connected X past Friday that showed him astatine the caput of a meal array with Crawford and Alvarez sitting crossed from 1 another. Alalshikh, president of the General Entertainment Authority and president of Saudi Arabia boxing, had summoned them to a meal of Middle Eastern cuisine to observe the kickoff of their hype tour.

When that photograph circulated Friday nighttime into Saturday, combat fans did not similar it. They complained that Crawford and Canelo looked excessively chummy eating crossed a array from 1 another.

Combat sports fans tin beryllium truthful silly erstwhile it comes to however fighters should promote, vie and past determination connected afterward. In the run-up to a fight, boxers are expected to despise each other. Stare-downs are mandatory, and the looks should kill. On combat night, the combatants should hardly beryllium capable to incorporate themselves earlier the unit begins. The combat should past beryllium a changeless show of fireworks, and humor is ever welcome. When the combat is over, the fighters should travel unneurotic and shingle hands, possibly adjacent hug erstwhile oregon twice. They ought to beryllium definite to amusement respect to the full squad of the opposing fighter.

Dinner earlier a large fight? Outrageous.

But that's a beauteous unfair reaction. NFL players effort to de-cleat their aged assemblage buddies for 3 hours connected Sundays, past speech jerseys afterward. A bitter NHL playoff bid ever ends with a handshake enactment and congratulations. Both of these elite fighters, Canelo and Crawford, astir apt merit the payment of the uncertainty that they volition beryllium capable to beryllium crossed a meal array and past effort to bushed the surviving daylights retired of each different 2 months later.

However, some fighters besides said that having meal unneurotic was a small awkward. They erstwhile had meal galore years -- and value classes -- ago. Crawford was erstwhile the undisputed 135-pound champ, and present he's moving up 2 much value classes from 154 to 168 to instrumentality connected Alvarez. So astatine their archetypal dinner, they seemed similar 2 superstar ships that would ever walk each different successful the night.

Yet, present we are. On Sunday, some fighters accidental they've ne'er had meal with an hostile before, and they won't beryllium doing it again anytime soon. Crawford had already eaten earlier helium got to the dinner, truthful helium spent the hr oregon truthful nibbling connected nutrient conscionable to beryllium polite. Canelo didn't devour much, either, and admitted helium spent the full clip reasoning astir punching Crawford successful the look sometime soon. "I don't truly similar this benignant of thing," helium tells me. "I don't similar to beryllium progressive with my opponents. But fto maine archer you something: I saw him and I truly privation to punish him. I was thinking, I americium going to f--- this feline up."

Alvarez has his sunglasses connected erstwhile helium says this. But somehow, it inactive seemed similar you could archer that helium has atrocious intentions planned for Sept. 13.

THE NEWS CONFERENCE opens an hr aboriginal with Michael Buffer connected stage. He's 80 years aged present but inactive looks rather regal and Buffery. Fans drown him retired a fewer times, but erstwhile helium launches into the commencement of his, "Are you ready?" spiel starring up to, "Let's get acceptable to rumble," helium inactive seems to beryllium hitting 93 mph connected the radar gun.

The assemblage is rowdy for the full 30-minute quality conference. Crawford has a vocal number wrong the audience. But this is simply a Canelo crowd, arsenic astir are successful boxing. Canelo is 34 present and had his pro boxing debut 2 years earlier the iPhone was invented. He has been body-shotting the enactment retired of main lawsuit boxers since astir 2010. That's however he's earned determination northbound of $500 cardinal arsenic a nonrecreational boxer and tin spend a Godfather watch. He has earned his money, and his masses, too.

Crawford comes retired first. He mostly gets jeers, but immoderate cheers sneak done the noise. He is an arsenic singular athlete, having dispatched each 41 boxers helium has ever faced. And he's 1 of those fighters whose undefeated grounds inactive seems similar an underestimation of his brilliance. On the very, precise fewer occasions erstwhile helium has ever been deed hard, there's a inclination to instantly deliberation helium indispensable person slipped oregon gotten distracted by something. He seldom seems hurtable.

Canelo comes retired a infinitesimal later, and the sunglasses are inactive connected arsenic helium sits down. Buffer's instauration gets wholly swallowed up by the cheers. The intros are intelligibly a 10-8 circular for Canelo.

Crawford wins the quality conference, though. He doesn't accidental much, but his words land, a small similar however helium tends to prime his spots successful the ring, too. At 1 point, Alvarez asks Alalshikh to marque the ringing smaller for this combat truthful that Crawford can't tally away. Crawford instantly fires back, "The lone moving I'm going to bash is upside his head. And helium has a large head, too."

White and the fighters instrumentality questions for astir 15 minutes, past the quality league concludes with an announcement that determination volition beryllium a faceoff. White stands successful the mediate of the signifier -- he's the preeminent fighter-separator successful combat sports history. He looks sturdier than ever successful a Canelo vs. Crawford T-shirt. He deserves a achromatic loop for his hard-earned quality to clasp up his hands successful a "the food that I caught was this big" presumption that keeps fighters adjacent capable to beryllium successful the aforesaid representation but acold capable isolated to marque definite a brawl doesn't hap for escaped a period earlier the existent fight.

The tables are cleared retired arsenic accelerated arsenic possible, and the fighters locomotion disconnected other sides of the stage. These stare-downs volition hap respective much times implicit the adjacent six weeks, truthful determination is simply a pro wrestling consciousness to the repeated theatrics of them. Canelo and Crawford conscionable sat calmly 20 feet distant from each different for 30 minutes. Now, they're expected to locomotion disconnected the stage, past march backmost crossed and thorax up with rage successful their eyes. Perhaps this volition appease the radical who are precise huffy astir them eating meal together.

The fighters stride to the middle, and White gets wedged successful between. But Crawford blows past White and into Canelo's space. For the archetypal clip each day, Canelo's shades aren't connected his face. The 2 fighters jaw for astir 5 seconds, and past Canelo gives Crawford a coagulated push. Crawford comes flying backmost toward him, and White tries to support immoderate region betwixt the 2 fighters. White gets a legit "uh-oh" look connected his look during the tussle, though astir observers thought the full happening looked similar a WWE scuffle designed to merchantability a fight. Maybe that's right, but successful the room, the vigor felt real.

The 2 fighters abstracted and past travel backmost unneurotic again for a 2nd take. This 1 lasts a bully 20 seconds oregon truthful total, and White yet relaxes his arms a spot successful the middle. He holds up the Ring Magazine loop that the institution says outgo $188,000 to make, but Crawford and Canelo ne'er instrumentality their eyes disconnected each other.

Alvarez is inactive during the photograph op. His near manus is astatine his side, and his close manus is somewhat higher and balled up, coiled for a afloat nonstop if necessary. His sunglasses are off, and truthful are aboriginal meal plans.