Riyadh Season boss Turki Alalshikh announced last month that he wanted to showcase the talents of young boxers on the undercard of the upcoming undisputed super middleweight clash between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Terence Crawford on September 13 in Las Vegas.
A host of hungry fighters posted videos on social media, tagging Alalshikh, and giving their reasons of why they should be added to the star-studded bill. Alalshikh then surprised many by posting a picture of young fighter Mikie Tallon on X, reading: “I want to see this fighter on the undercard of Canelo vs Crawford.”
Tallon, a 20-year-old light flyweight from Liverpool, England, is guided by decorated trainer Joe Gallagher, and many would have thought he would have been expecting to hear the news that Alalshikh wanted him on the undercard of one of the biggest cards this year.
“I woke up last week and saw that tweeted out. No one knew it was going to happen, it just happened,” Tallon told BoxingScene. “I came into the gym, showed Joe – Joe was buzzing. Macaulay [McGowan] was jumping up and down in the gym, going, ‘Oh my god.’ But, yeah, so I'm not guaranteed to be on it yet, as of now, but hopefully get this next fight out of the way and get the good news.
Tallon will first have to get through a scheduled bout this Friday against Jake Pollard at the Liverpool Olympia before he can start to dream of a bout in Las Vegas this September. Should he win, it is expected Tallon will be announced as part of the undercard for Canelo-Crawford. Alalshikh has been vocal in recent weeks on how he does not like “Tom and Jerry” style fights on his shows and wants fighters to entertain. Tallon was asked if he feels any pressure to put on a show after Alalshikh’s comments.
“I suppose, yeah, I think I can do a bit of both normally anyway,” he replied. “I can box, I was a good boxer, but then since coming to Joe’s, obviously I've sat down and I've learned the pro style, and I can sit down and throw punches and stuff like that. So yeah, whatever opponent's in front of me on the night, then I can adapt.”
It is unlikely Tallon will be given an easy touch should he feature on the card in Las Vegas. Regardless, Tallon believes that after eight professional contests, he has served his apprenticeship, and is ready for the big stage.
“Yeah, well that's what we're here for isn't it, we're not here to fight these journeymen all the time and just trying to get the rounds in and stuff like that,” Tallon said. “I'm here because somebody wants to come and take my head off, that'll bring the best out of me.
“Joe sat me down last week, before that even got tweeted and he was like,’There's going to be a moment in your career where you're going to step through the door and you're going to get everyone trying to comment on you and you're going to have people asking you for interviews and all that, you're going to get loads of media.’ He said, ‘Are you mentally ready for this?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah I'm more than ready, this is what I was built for so I just need to show everyone now.’”
Tom Ivers is an amateur boxer who has a masters degree in sports journalism. He had his first bout in 2013, joined BoxingScene in 2024 and is now a key part of the UK and social media teams.
