A bout between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford will mark the first major fight to be held at Allegiant Stadium and under the banner of Saudi-backed challenger promotion TKO Boxing, while NASCAR has set out a new hosting model for its season finale akin to that employed by other leading sports leagues.
The highly anticipated fight has been teed up after Alvarez outpointed William Scull to regain the undisputed super-middleweight title in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday. Alvarez v Crawford has now been scheduled for September 12 at Allegiant Stadium, home of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders.
Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the Kingdom’s General Entertainment Authority (GEA) and owner of The Ring boxing magazine, stated on X that the fight will be the first promoted by TKO Boxing.
TKO Group, parent company of MMA promotion the UFC and wrestling powerhouse WWE, confirmed details of its long-speculated moving into boxing back in March. TKO Boxing is being run in association with Sela, the live events company owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, and Alalshikh.
In January, Allegiant Stadium was announced as the host venue for the 2027 College Football Playoff National Championship game. Las Vegas will become the third Pacific time zone city to host the game, after the 2019 and 2023 editions, which were held at Levi’s Stadium and SoFi Stadium, respectively.
Homestead-Miami move sets up NASCAR change
NASCAR has announced that its 2026 Championship Weekend, featuring the Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Craftsman Truck Series, will be held at Homestead-Miami Speedway to conclude the season.
As part of this shift, the Championship Weekend will move to a new rotating model as part of a fan-centric effort to ensure that the season’s conclusion is shared amongst NASCAR’s marquee venues and key markets.
In the past 23 years, only two tracks have played host to NASCAR’s season-ending events — Homestead-Miami from 2002 to 2019, followed by Phoenix Raceway from 2020 to the current season.
“Homestead-Miami Speedway has a history of competitive, championship racing that will provide nostalgia for veteran drivers and fans and exhilaration for NASCAR’s new generation,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR executive vice-president, chief venue and racing innovation officer.
“As we move forward, the rotating model will provide new challenges for competitors as well as opportunities for unique venues to host our loyal fans at NASCAR Championship Weekend.”
Ahead of its return as host of the season finale, Homestead-Miami will undergo upgrades. Kennedy told NASCAR.com that he expected work to commence in the autumn, running through until next year, but added that “the great part about it is, the bones of Homestead are really strong.”
Guillermo Santa Cruz, Homestead-Miami Speedway president, stated that improvements to hospitality suites and other fan conveniences are among the upgrades planned.
He said: “It’s a fair-sized list of things that we need to do. Luckily, we have time to address many of them, and we’re excited to do that, and we look forward to working with our design and development team to address these things. But I’m sure that by the time that green flag drops in November 2026, this jewel is going to be sparkling.”
