Dana White Snubs Saudi Promoter in Awkward Exchange at Canelo‑Crawford Press Conference

Dana White appeared to publicly snub Saudi sports official Turki Alalshikh during a press conference Thursday night promoting Saturday's Canelo Alvarez‑Terence Crawford fight, abruptly ending the event after Alalshikh sought to prompt an announcement.

As the session was closing, Alalshikh, who is partnering with White on a new boxing venture, took the microphone and said, "There is [a] big surprise from Dana White. He will announce it now." White did not make an announcement and instead thanked attendees and said, "We'll see you at the weigh‑ins," drawing a confused look from the 44‑year‑old Saudi official. White then leaned down and spoke to Alalshikh; the pair were later seen engaged in a heated discussion offstage.

Earlier in the same press conference, White was involved in a tense exchange with reporter Sean Zittel after being asked about the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act and proposed new legislation called the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act. White dismissed the line of questioning as outside the scope of the event and told the reporter, "Well, this is obviously a long discussion. 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." When Zittel persisted, White said, "Listen, if you want to be an a**hole, let's do it in private and we can do an interview. 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 exchanges punctuated White's high‑profile entry into boxing promotion. White, the president and CEO of the UFC, announced in recent months a partnership with Alalshikh to launch Zuffa Boxing. The Alvarez‑Crawford card at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas is being billed as a marquee event for that effort and is White's most prominent role as a boxing promoter since the Conor McGregor‑Floyd Mayweather crossover bout in 2017.

Saturday's main event pits four‑belt super‑middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez against three‑weight world champion Terence Crawford, who is moving up two weight classes. Alvarez, 35, will put those titles on the line against Crawford, 37, in a matchup widely promoted as one of the sport's major showdowns of the year. The pair faced off briefly at the conference and locked eyes for several minutes before being separated.

Organizers did not provide an immediate explanation for the aborted announcement that Alalshikh attempted to prompt, and no formal statement was released during the press conference. The event closed with a markedly terse tone, and White and Alalshikh were seen speaking privately after the onstage exchange.

The press conference incidents drew attention amid broader debate in Washington and the boxing community about governance and competition in the sport. The Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, passed in 2000, and more recent proposals such as the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act aim to address concerns about promoter power and fighter protections. White declined to discuss those matters at length at the press conference, saying his focus was on the fighters and the upcoming bout.

Both camps proceed toward the weigh‑ins and fight night on Saturday, with promotion and ticketing operations continuing amid scrutiny over the public tensions that surfaced at the headliner press conference.