Turki Alalshikh was left embarrassed on stage after being brutally snubbed by Dana White during the Canelo vs Crawford press conference on Thursday.
White – CEO and president of the UFC – is promoting the highly-anticipated fight to launch his new boxing venture, Zuffa Boxing, in partnership with Alalshikh.
However, the two chiefs appeared to disagree over a matter right at the end of the press conference – before being seen in heated discussion straight after.
As the duo closed off the press conference, Alalshikh took the microphone and declared: ‘There is [a] big surprise from Dana White. He will announce it now’.
However, there was no announcement. Instead, the UFC chief said: ‘Thanks for coming out tonight everybody. We’ll see you at the weigh-ins’.
Saudi boxing chief Alalshikh looked bemused as White refused to make the announcement – before tapping the UFC president on the arm.
Dana White brutally snubbed Turki Alalshikh in an awkward exchange on Thursday night
Alalshikh claimed White had an announcement to make – before the latter simply thanked fans and called an end to the press conference
White then bent down and said something to Alalshikh, but whatever was said did not help in wiping away the confused look upon the 44-year-old’s face.
It proved to be a tricky night for White as he made his kick-started his foray into the boxing world.
Prior to his awkward moment with Alalshikh, White was involved in a heated spat with one reporter – before the UFC chief labelled him an ‘a**hole’.
The 56-year-old was questioned by a reporter about the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act of 2000 – a law brought into place to protect boxers and prevent ‘potential monopolies’.
‘Well, this is obviously a long discussion,’ White said. ‘If you want to talk to me about that, set up an interview. This isn’t about me and my business. It’s about these two guys on Saturday night.’
25 years on from the Ali Act, a new bill, called the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act, has been proposed in an attempt to reform the sport’s structure.
Journalist Sean Zittel did not back down after White’s rebuttal and continued to question the UFC chief about the original act.
Things then took a turn for the worse, as White did not like the path he was being taken down by the reporter.
The mega-fight between Alvarez and Crawford is White’s first true fight as a boxing promoter
White did not take kindly to a question while hosting the pre-fight press conference
‘Listen, if you want to be an a**hole, let’s do it in private and we can do an interview,’ he responded.
‘If you wanna showboat, I get it. If you have questions for these two that are fighting on Saturday, that’s a different story.’
The mega-fight between Alvarez and Crawford is White’s first true fight as a boxing promoter, outside of Conor McGregor’s crossover bout with Floyd Mayweather in 2017.
The two fighters faced off after White’s fiery exchange with the reporter, and they continued the tense mood of the night by locking into each other’s eyes for several minutes, before breaking off.
Mexican boxing legend Canelo will take on 37-year-old Crawford at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Saturday, in an event that has been hyped up as one of the fights of the modern era.
Alvarez, 35, is putting his four belts on the line as Crawford, who is jumping up two weight classes, looks to become only the second undisputed super-middleweight king, after Alvarez.
