Before September's blockbuster battle of pound-for-pound greats, a strong nine-fight undercard filled with top contenders and prospects will benefit from the Canelo vs. Crawford spotlight.
When Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Terence "Bud" Crawford step into the ring at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sept. 13 in front of a Netflix audience of multi-millions, it will surely be one of the biggest boxing matches in recent years. But before the pound-for-pound greats battle for Alvarez's undisputed super middleweight crown, a strong nine-fight undercard filled with top contenders and prospects will also benefit from the tremendous spotlight Alvarez vs. Crawford provides.
This past week, TKO Boxing and Netflix confirmed the three-fight main card, which consists of a WBC interim super middleweight title bout between Christian Mbilli and Lester Martinez, a prospect battle featuring Dana White-backed Irishman Callum Walsh against Fernando Vargas Jr. — the son of the two-division champion Fernando Vargas — and Saudi boxer Mohammed Alakel against John Ornelas.
On Tuesday afternoon, UFC CEO White confirmed six preliminary fights that will stream live on YouTube starting at 5:30 p.m. ET.
The most noteworthy addition was a rematch between super welterweight contenders Serhii Bohachuk (26-2, 24 KOs) and Brandon Adams (25-4, 16 KOs) over 10 rounds at a 156-pound catchweight. Adams came from behind on the scorecards to upset Bohachuk by eighth-round TKO on a 2021 NBC Sports card in Puerto Rico. Adams, however, was unable to capitalize on the win, as he didn't fight for three years after beating Bohachuk. Andreas Katzourakis defeated Adams by split decision in the American's latest bout this past November.
Bohachuk won five fights in a row after that 2021 defeat before capturing the WBC interim title, which he lost to Vergil Ortiz Jr. in August 2024. The Ukrainian rebounded from the defeat to stop Ishmael Davis this past December and added Mykal Fox to his résumé in May.
Also on the card, unbeaten heavyweight Ivan Dychko (15-0, 14 KOs) steps up to face Jermaine Franklin Jr. (23-2, 15 KOs) over 10 rounds. Franklin, who ends a 16-month layoff for the bout, lost back-to-back fights on British soil against Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua in 2022 and 2023, but has since rebounded to score two wins on Detroit fight cards. Dychko, a double Olympic bronze medalist, knows that at age 35, time is running out for the Kazakh to establish himself as a legitimate contender in boxing's blue ribbon division, and thusly jumps up the levels to meet Franklin on Sept. 13.
Crawford's teammate, Steven Nelson (20-1, 16 KOs), also clashes with Raiko Santana (12-4, 6 KOs) in a light heavyweight bout over 10 rounds. Nelson hasn't fought since falling short to Diego Pacheco at super middleweight this past January in Las Vegas. Santana, a Cuban now based in Texas, has won back-to-back split decision upsets over Lorenzo Simpson and Marquis Moore, and now looks to pull off a third away corner win against Nelson.
A trio of top prospects — Marco Verde, Reito Tsutsumi and Sultan Almohamed — also feature on the broadcast. Almohamed makes his professional debut against Martin Caraballo (0-0-1) over four rounds, Japanese amateur standout Tsutsumi (2-0, 1 KO) faces Javier Martinez (7-2, 4 KOs) over six rounds, and 2024 Olympic silver medalist Verde (2-0, 1 KO) get his third pro outing against an opponent to be confirmed over six rounds.
The full Canelo vs. Crawford fight card can be seen below.
Main Card (Netflix)
Undisputed super middleweight championship: Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford, 12 rounds
Super welterweight: Callum Walsh vs. Fernando Vargas Jr., 10 rounds
Super middleweight: Christian Mbilli vs. Lester Martinez, 12 rounds
Super featherweight: Mohammed Alakel vs. John Ornelas, 10 rounds
Undercard (YouTube)
Middleweight: Serhii Bohachuk vs. Brandon Adams, 10 rounds
Heavyweight: Ivan Dychko vs. Jermaine Franklin Jr., 10 rounds
Super featherweight: Reito Tsutsumi vs. Javier Martinez, 6 rounds
Super lightweight: Sultan Almohamed vs. Martin Caraballo, 4 rounds
Light heavyweight: Steven Nelson vs. Raiko Santana, 10 rounds
Super middleweight: Marco Verde vs. TBD, 6 rounds
Category: General Sports
