Date changes for Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford fight in Las Vegas

A blockbuster championship boxing match pitting Canelo Alvarez against Terence Crawford has been announced again for Las Vegas — this time on Sept. 13.

The fight, which will be chiefly promoted by UFC president Dana White, had been announced for Sept. 12 at Allegiant Stadium, only to have that plan thrown into flux with rumors it could change locales, dates and even promoters.

Tuesday’s formal announcement did not include a venue. Allegiant Stadium is booked Sept. 13 for a football game between UNLV and Idaho State. UNLV officials confirmed the game is still scheduled as planned for that day.

Both fighters have held world title belts in four weight classes.

Crawford, 37, is 41-0 with 31 knockouts, but his August victory over Israil Madrimov for the WBA and WBO 154-pound belts was the first time he has fought higher than 147 pounds.

He will step up multiple divisions to 168 pounds to challenge Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs), a 34-year-old Mexican superstar who is the undisputed super middleweight champion.

Alvarez is a -145 favorite at Westgate SuperBook.

The fight, perhaps the biggest box-office draw in the sport at the moment, will stream on Netflix at no additional charge to all subscribers.

It will mark White’s first official foray into boxing after years of hinting at a desire to expand his combat sports footprint beyond UFC.

“Are you kidding me that the first boxing fight I’m going to get to promote is Canelo vs. Crawford?” White said in a news release. “It’s literally a once-in-a-lifetime fight.”

White has said he plans to use his UFC infrastructure to handle everything from production to event operations to public relations, but the card will be promoted in conjunction with Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season.

Alalshikh has invested heavily in sports, mostly in Saudi Arabia. He and White, along with WWE president Nick Khan, announced the formation of TKO Boxing this year.

The Alvarez-Crawford fight will be the first under that banner.

“Turki wants to make the biggest fights that the fans want to see in boxing, and this is right up my alley,” White said. “Two of the greatest boxers in the sport will meet in a historic fight from Las Vegas.”

Indications are the promoters will attempt to work with UNLV to move the football game, but it’s not a certainty the fight will be at Allegiant Stadium.

White has repeatedly discussed his preference for arena shows over stadium events because he believes the atmosphere doesn’t translate to a bigger venue. It’s why the UFC has rarely moved major events to football stadiums.

He attended WrestleMania 41 in April at Allegiant Stadium, but insisted his opinion wasn’t swayed.

“Nothing will change my mind about a stadium show,” he said the following week at a UFC news conference. “Not that there wasn’t any (energy at WrestleMania). What’d they have, 63,000 people there? You’re going to get some energy like they did. I am just not a fan of stadiums. I like arenas.”

A three-city international press tour will conclude with a June 27 news conference at T-Mobile Arena, the day before UFC 317.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.