Fingers crossed that the public is the biggest winner in Canelo Álvarez versus Terence Crawford

It’s fight week for the mega spectacle between Canelo Álvarez and Terence Crawford that will decide the undisputed champion at 168 pounds on Sept. 13. Neither man has officially kissed the canvas in their careers, and this clash of titans at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas will be the biggest of the year. 

FanDuel Sportsbook has Canelo as a -192 favorite. DraftKings has him at -165, and Caesars at -170.   

Crawford didn’t have the same fishing power at 154 pounds facing Israil Madrimov that he did at 147, ending his knockout streak at 11. That also includes all eight welterweights he fought. He eventually solved Madrimov’s awkward movements and strike patterns for a unanimous decision, but it was far from his best showing in the ring at his only stay at junior middleweight. 

After going up 14 pounds, Crawford’s power will be tested by Canelo, who claims the four belts and will keep pressing forward until given a reason not to. Still, Crawford shouldn’t be underestimated for being the smaller man because he is the superior boxer.

“I ain’t scared of shit,” Crawford said at the press conference for the fight on June 27. He also thinks too much is being made of the weight jump. Manny Pacquiao probably thought the same thing when he moved up two divisions and retired Oscar De La Hoya.

But what Canelo will it be? It’s been 12 years since Floyd Mayweather said he would “carry the torch” after that education. The last real test he saw was against Dmitry Bivol, who was a significant underdog before the first bell. Canelo came back down to super middleweight after that loss and at least four of his fights since 2022 have been against opponents who should not have been in the ring with him. And he couldn’t put down Jaimee Munguia and Edgar Berlanga after hurting them. 

Canelo may be older boxing-wise than people realize. In Douglas Fischer’s piece for The Ring magazine’s August edition, he wrote that Canelo told him years ago that 13 fights were not counted on his pro record. Still, even with a substandard performance in the unanimous decision victory over William Scull, who was there for a check, Canelo is the most dangerous fighter Crawford has challenged.

The biggest question of the fight is how Crawford, a two-time undisputed champ (four belts), will handle the heaviest shots of his career. Matchroom Sport chairman Eddie Hearn said he probably has to make it a “stinker,” but if Crawford rides constant movement while jabbing off the back foot plus firing light-speed backhands to the body, without brawling, I suspect many purists won’t complain.

Bivol’s blueprint at light heavyweight (175 pounds), set on May 7, 2022, is not one that Crawford can follow completely. Bivol, the naturally bigger man, had the faster hands and bothered Canelo with his movement and guard that took lots of Canelo’s good punches.  He eventually got bold and bullied the smaller man at times. 

The red-headed Mexican has tried to get into Crawford’s head, saying he hasn’t faced one elite fighter, but that’s not true. He broke Errol Spence Jr., who much of the boxing world deemed a 50-50 opponent in a massive fight in 2023. The Nebraska native also has many other good wins. The one over Shawn Porter is one of his top moments because he questioned how it was going in his corner, got an answer he didn’t like and dropped Porter twice, finishing the fight. But like all of the great ones, even Canelo, there are things that could be nitpicked. 

Considering how supremely gifted Crawford is, it’s a shame he’s not known about by the public as someone like Stephen Curry. Perhaps an upset would change that. But fingers crossed that the public is the biggest winner.