Canelo Vs. Crawford Undercard Takes Shape With Fascinating 154-Pound Fight
Set for Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and streaming exclusively on Netflix, the undercard is beginning to take shape. On Monday, Zuffa Boxing confirmed three preliminary showdowns—two with some intrigue and one that features a very young Saudi fighter with serious star potential in a developmental fight.
First: in what's looking like the co-main bout, Ireland's 24-year-old Callum Walsh (14‑0, 11 KOs) squares off against the powerful, unbeaten Fernando Vargas Jr. (17‑0, 15 KOs). Walsh—long mentored by UFC's Dana White and built up through UFC Fight Pass—finally gets a moment to shine on a major stage.
Vargas Jr., son of a former world champ, brings name recognition and family legacy into play. This one's potential fireworks before and during the main event.
In a rare battle between undefeated super welterweights, Ireland's 24-year-0ld undefeated rising star Callum Walsh (14-0, 11 KO) takes on second-generation KO artist and fellow undefeated standout, Fernando Vargas Jr (17-0, 15 KO).
If Walsh wins–especially spectacularly–he'll be one of the hottest fighters in the red-hot weight class. If Vargas wins, it'll be an upset as Walsh figures to be a noticeable favorite by the time fight week rolls around.
Turning the dial up another notch from an established contender standpoint: WBC interim super‑middleweight champ Christian Mbilli (29‑0, 24 KOs) defends his belt against undefeated Lester Martinez (19‑0, 16 KOs).
Mbilli is widely viewed as the No. 1 contender behind Canelo and has been on a tear—most recently snatching the interim title via first-round knockout over Maciej Sulecki. A win here likely positions him as the next challenger to the super‑middleweight throne, but as we know, things can get complicated at the top of a division with megastars like Canelo and Crawford.
Martinez, ranked in the top 10 across major boxing bodies, is no pushover—though he's had health hurdles, including recent withdrawals due to migraines. Still, he's poised for a breakout if he stays sharp.
Finishing things off is a lightweight clash between Mohammed Alakel (4‑0) and John Ornelas (5‑2‑1). Neither fighter is well known abroad, but Alakel is arguably the brightest hope on the Saudi boxing scene and he appears to be one of Turki Alalshikh's favorites.
He'll get every opportunity to succeed.
I'm not sure if any of these three fights would be considered a strong co-main event on other cards, but with Canelo vs. Crawford being such a major draw, there probably won't be a ton of complaints.
That said, if the main event between the two future Hall-of-Famers doesn't deliver from an action standpoint, fans will be happy they didn't have to spend pay-per-view dollars.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
a minute ago
- New York Times
Penix ends up on bottom of pile in Falcons-Titans fight: ‘Everything happened pretty fast'
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — D.J. Williams thought Michael Penix Jr.'s teammates liked him. On Wednesday, he learned it for certain after the Atlanta Falcons quarterback was knocked to the ground during a joint practice against the Tennessee Titans, setting off a large fight that took several minutes to disentangle. Advertisement 'Obviously, you don't want that,' Williams, Atlanta's quarterbacks coach, said, 'but I take some positives out of it because you saw the guys take up for him. That speaks to his leadership and who he is in that locker room. As coaches, we're upstairs — they're downstairs. We don't really see a lot, but obviously he has a relationship with the guys.' The part that Williams didn't like was seeing his starting quarterback at the bottom of a pile of players surrounded by grappling teammates. After practice, Penix still wasn't sure how he ended up at the bottom of that pile. He did know what started the fight, though. 'I threw a deep pass. They had (said) a lot of words throughout practice, so I gave my words,' he said. 'It just went a little too far. Celebration. Somebody didn't like it, and it went on from there. Everything happened pretty fast. Penix's trash talk came after a long touchdown pass to Ray-Ray McCloud. His words were a response, he said, to comments from Titans defenders that he felt went too far. Elevating 📈@themikepenix x @RMIII_34 — Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) August 13, 2025 'I don't really do too much talking till somebody says something to me,' Penix continued. 'They probably looked at me like, '(He's) just a quarterback, not that type of person,' but … I'm from Tampa. It's a respect (thing). We are all competing, but when disrespect comes in, it's like, 'This ain't football no more.' We can talk trash, but I'll never call you out on your name, and I don't want you to ever call me out on my name.' All of Atlanta's offensive linemen came to Penix's aid, and right guard Matthew Bergeron had to be pulled from the middle of the pile as every coach on the field blew his whistle over and over. Penix, tight end Kyle Pitts and wide receiver Drake London had to be restrained by teammates and coaches, and it eventually took several blasts of an airhorn to get everyone's attention. Titans Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons had his helmet ripped off in the fracas. Advertisement 'I've never had that situation on the field before,' Penix said. 'To see the team have my back … it was good to know that those guys have my back.' Penix generally is one of the more mild-mannered players on Atlanta's roster, and Williams was surprised to see him get so angry. 'He's a calm guy, but when you see him fiery, it gets the offense going a little bit,' Williams said. 'He started off as a running back, so he always says, 'D.J, I'm a football player first.' I say, 'I understand that, but you're a quarterback now and this is an economic game.'' 'That wasn't me,' Penix quipped. 'That was somebody else.' Michael Penix Jr. on the fight that broke out . He says he doesn't really remember what happened. He said he threw a deep ball and was celebrating, then a fight broke out. — Alison Mastrangelo (@AlisonWSB) August 13, 2025 Falcons right tackle Kaleb McGary and Titans outside linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo had to be separated two snaps later. Wednesday was the second day of joint practices between the Falcons and Titans. Tuesday went smoothly, but Wednesday was chippy from the start. Former Atlanta wide receiver Calvin Ridley got in a scuffle during a special teams rep before the big fight and had to be calmed down by Falcons coach Raheem Morris, who remains close to Ridley. After the major melee, a special teams session sparked another fight, and Falcons wide receiver Casey Washington had his helmet ripped off and tossed away by a Tennessee player. 'Emotions get high. It's hot out here,' Williams said. 'We've got a bunch of guys fighting for their lives.' Wednesday's scuffle probably reinforced Morris' decision to hold Penix out of preseason games this year. 'My philosophy with the quarterback is definitely to mitigate the amount of hits they take that are unnecessary. Preseason hits for a quarterback are unnecessary,' Morris said before practice. 'Mike knows how to get tackled. I'm good with that. I don't need to see it until there is money on the line.' Advertisement Missing preseason games won't impact Penix's readiness for the Sept. 8 season-opener against Tampa Bay, the quarterback said. 'I don't think it'll affect my preparation at all,' he said. 'I'm always going to be ready. That's my job, to be ready. In college, you didn't have a preseason. Playing in preseason, will it help me in certain aspects of the game? Maybe. Maybe not. We don't really know. The only difference about me not playing preseason is I am not taking hits.' Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
New York Times
a minute ago
- New York Times
Pulisic docuseries inflames clash between current, former USMNT players
Christian Pulisic, his father Mark and his U.S. teammate Tim Weah re-ignited the public spat between current and former U.S. men's national team players in an episode of the 'Pulisic' docuseries released on Paramount+ Wednesday. Pulisic, in an interview filmed earlier this summer, called criticism of the team's effort and heart 'the biggest cop-out of all time.' Advertisement Weah, speaking about former players-turned-pundits, said: 'I think those guys are chasing checks. And for me, I just feel like they're really evil. Honestly. Because they've been players, and they know what it's like when you're getting bashed. Those are the same guys that'll turn around and shake your hand, and try to be friendly with you at the end of the day.' Mark Pulisic, Christian's dad, agreed: 'These guys want clicks. It's social media, it's 'subscribe to my channel, listen to my podcasts,' or whatever.'' The comments rekindle a war of words between generations that picked up steam following the USMNT's losses to Panama and Canada in March. Landon Donovan (now a podcaster and Fox Sports pundit) and Clint Dempsey (now a CBS Sports and Men In Blazers pundit), the top two goalscorers in program history, were among the vocal critics. 'I'm so sick of hearing how 'talented' this group of players is and all of the amazing clubs they play for,' Donovan wrote on X at the time. 'If you aren't going to show up and actually give a s!%* about playing for your national team, decline the invite. Talent is great, pride is better.' Weah, in an interview for the docuseries, said of the former players: 'Don't get me wrong, I respect all of them. They were the players that I looked up to. But quite frankly, the guys before us didn't win anything either.' Weah added: 'Christian himself has had a better career than every single one of the guys who speak negative on us.' Mark Pulisic, who previously inflamed the friction with an Instagram post implicitly responding to criticism from Donovan, said of former players: 'I think they should look in the mirror and look at their last performances for the national team before they start talking s***. 'It's jealousy. People want to be in his shoes, and they'll find any reason to bring him down. But Christian doesn't give a s*** about what anyone says.' The criticism of Pulisic crescendoed when he opted to skip this summer's Concacaf Gold Cup. Donovan, in the studio for a Fox Sports broadcast of Portugal's UEFA Nations League win over Spain, said during Portugal's emotional celebrations: 'I can't help but think about our guys on vacation, not wanting to play in the Gold Cup. It's pissing me off.' Advertisement Pulisic, in an interview the following week with CBS Sports' 'Call It What You Want' podcast, defended his decision and addressed the criticism. 'You can talk about my performances, whatever you want, but to question my commitment, especially towards the national team, in my opinion, that's way out of line,' he said then. Pulisic reiterated that sentiment in the docuseries: 'I'd say the most annoying thing, and for me the biggest cop-out of all time, is when especially all pundits want to say, 'They didn't want it, they didn't have the heart. Back in our day we would fight and die on that field.' 'It's frustrating. We haven't had as much success as we would like. I think we have had some really incredible moments. But we're out here fighting. And I think if people knew what it actually meant to me and what it meant to our team and all the players, they would never question us. 'Come after whatever you want. Come after my performance, whatever you want to say, but to talk about my commitment, the commitment that I've given to this game, that I've given to my national team for 10 years – that's the only thing that starts to get on my nerves.' With several former USMNT stars now prominent in American soccer media, the clash between them and active players could be an ongoing source of noise between now and the 2026 World Cup. Tyler Adams, speaking recently to The Athletic, called the disconnect between current and former players 'the strangest thing.' 'I can't even explain it,' Adams said. 'I'm not a social-media guy, so I don't follow anything, but when people bring up some of the things that are being said and some of the stories that are being created, it feels weird, because it feels like not long ago that every single one of those people were on board with, like, the direction that the federation was going and how well the players were doing. And it feels like any setback is (treated) like a disaster is happening. Do you know what I mean? Advertisement 'And that happens in football. I get it. Some people have jobs where their job is to speak about the sport, and if that's their opinion, that's their opinion. My goal is to try to create an environment, especially within our team, where guys feel like they can go out, be themselves, be comfortable. We're all on the same page and want to grow the sport in America. People's opinions are people's opinions at the end of the day.' His comments triggered former defender and Fox Sports pundit Alexi Lalas. Lalas, speaking on his podcast this week, said of Adams: 'I thought that this was a strangely immature, and naive, and weak kind of take. Not that he's defending Christian Pulisic, because we're all going to do that, but the way he seemed to think that there should be no criticism and we should all be kumbaya.' The debate had quieted since the Gold Cup. But with European seasons commencing — Pulisic, who missed recent friendlies as a precaution, is preparing for AC Milan's first competitive match this weekend — and the USMNT set to reconvene early next month, it could heat up once again. Mauricio Pochettino's U.S. roster for September friendlies against South Korea and Japan will be released in two weeks. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Associated Press
a minute ago
- Associated Press
Scottie Scheffler to use a different caddie at BMW Championship as regular deals with family matter
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler is going with a PGA Tour caddie for the BMW Championship as his regular looper, Ted Scott, deals with a family emergency at home in Louisiana. Scott had to leave immediately after the third round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, and Scheffler used longtime friend Brad Payne from the College Golf Fellowship. This week he has turned to Michael Cromie. He usually works for Chris Kirk, who missed qualifying for the BMW Championship by one shot. 'He works really hard and does a good job. We're both learning a new golf course this week, so it's been fun,' Scheffler said. The family matter involving Scott was kept private, though Scheffler said he has spoken to him a couple of times and the family was in good spirits. 'I think Ted's where he needs to be right now, and I think caddying is probably the last thing on his mind, as it should be,' Scheffler said. Scheffler finished one shot out of a playoff last week at the TPC Southwind. He remains the No. 1 seed in the FedEx Cup at the BMW Championship and already is assured of a $5 million bonus for staying at the top going into the FedEx Cup finale next week at East Lake. Scheffler said Cromie was learning a lot of the minutiae that often goes unnoticed by spectators, such as when he likes to snack and how often to drink, and how he likes to get the yardage and other conditions communicated to him. There's also the matter of getting yardages from tee-to-green. 'Brad did a great job stepping in, but Brad is a friend, he's not a professional caddie,' Scheffler said. 'I think when you have a professional on the bag, it's a bit different. It's not that I don't trust Brad to do the numbers. It was just something that I think both of us probably thought it was a good idea to be double-checking each other. 'Going into this week, it will be kind of more of a normal routine for me in terms of preparation over the shot and stuff like that,' he said. 'It's nice for me to be able to walk up to the ball, see the shot that I can imagine hitting, and then when the numbers come, we start trying to really dial it in.' ___ AP golf:
