Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford are both coming off dominant victories – but with ‘Bud’ challenging the Mexican ace, will we see this cross-division mega-fight soon? And who wins?
Boxing rarely gets these opportunities, when the sport’s biggest global superstar (Canelo) and pound-for-pound no.1 (Crawford) are – just about – in touching distance when it comes to weight and able to face-off in the ring.
It happened in 2007 when Floyd Mayweather moved up to take on Oscar De La Hoya, a fight that generated $130million in revenue. In 2023, after Alvarez dismantled Jermell Charlo, Crawford announced on social media: “Canelo vs Crawford is the biggest fight in boxing.”
Alvarez praised Crawford after his one-sided beatdown of welterweight rival Errol Spence, proclaiming: “Congrats Terence Crawford, you are a f***ing great fighter, well deserve[d].”
The Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk heavyweight unification super-fight is undoubtedly a bigger deal to fight fans in the UK. But in terms of global interest, given the status of Canelo and Crawford in the USA, South and Central America – Canelo vs Crawford feels even more momentous.
But will we see it in the ring? Canelo cooled talk after his 12-round clinic against Charlo, saying: “Right now, the fight with Terence Crawford, it doesn’t make sense.” But quickly added: “I just won, let me enjoy this.”
So that indicates the 33-year-old just wanted to bask in his victory, rather than rule out a future Crawford showdown. Despite the three weight divisions between them, it’s actually a contest that makes perfect sense for both fighters – even beyond just the hundreds of millions of dollars on the table for it.
Alvarez boasted “nobody can live with this Canelo” as, fully fit again after wrist surgery, he laid a beating on Charlo. It clearly annoys this proud warrior that after his defeat by Dimitry Bivol at 175lb and then two uninspiring wins, he has slipped down the pound-for-pound rankings.
There are two realistic ways Canelo can put himself back in contention for no.1 spot. Defeat Bivol in a rematch – a tricky challenge given the larger Russian may just always have his number style-wise.
Or become the first man to beat Crawford, a smaller, older boxer who’s never fought above welterweight in his life.
