On the night of September 15 in Las Vegas, USA, Mexican unified super middleweight champion (up to 76.2 kg) Saúl Álvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) successfully defended his titles against Puerto Rican Edgar Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs).
While the Canelo vs. Berlanga boxing event was taking place in Las Vegas, a UFC tournament was also happening, attended by the head of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia, Turki Alalshikh, and WBA super welterweight champion (up to 69.9 kg) Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs). After the fight, the two addressed Canelo in a joint video.
– Hey, Turki? Tell the people that Crawford vs. Canelo is next, Terence said.
– Yes. Canelo, let's go. We're ready, replied Turki.
– Canelo and Crawford—that's the biggest fight in boxing. We're ready.
Previously, Turki Al-Sheikh had attempted to organize a fight between Crawford and Álvarez. However, Canelo stated that he was focused on his fight with Berlanga and would not consider other offers until after the bout.