Dana White Declares Canelo-Craword “One of the Biggest Fights Ever,” But Fans Aren’t Buying the Hype

Promoter Dana White is calling the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford fight “one of the biggest fights ever” for their September 13th superfight in Las Vegas. A big marketing push is being made for this fight, yet it still hasn’t caught fire with the average U.S. fan.

Given the lack of genuine interest in the Canelo-Crawford fight, it will not even be the second biggest fight in 2025, when compared to the fights in 2024.

Is Canelo-Crawford a Gimmick?

It’s an oddball type of gimmick fight, matching an aging smaller fighter, Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs), moving up to 168 to challenge Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs) for his undisputed super middleweight championship.

Crawford is being given the luxury of skipping the laborious hassle of fighting his way into a title shot to go straight into a title fight. While that’s great for him, it’s made the fight look fake.  It’s taken away a lot of interest that would be there if Crawford had gone through the top contenders one by one to earn the shot at Canelo.

“I’ve been a big fan of boxing since I was a kid. I wouldn’t be sitting here today if it weren’t for boxing. For this to be the first boxing match that I’m promoting is an absolute honor,” said Dana White to the Ring Magazine YouTube channel, talking about the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford fight on September 13th.

White’s “Biggest Fight Ever” Claim

“It’s two of the greatest of all time and one of the biggest fights ever in the history of the sport. It’s a very proud moment for me, and I’ve done a lot of things in my career,” said White.

Dana White is going overboard with his praise of the Canelo-Crawford fight, with him saying it ranks as one of “the biggest fights” in the sport’s history. Considering that there’s only moderate buzz about the fight on social media suggests that it’s NOT one of the biggest fights.

The amount of interest in the Canelo vs. Crawford fight is arguably less than last year’s mega-fight between Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney. Three months before that fight took place, there was already huge fan interest in it.

People yapping nonstop about it on X. In contrast, the fan discussion about Canelo-Crawford is generally mild to moderate daily, with many people criticizing it, labeling it a money grab, and arguing that it shouldn’t even be allowed due to the two-division weight jump for Crawford.

Historic Fights vs. Canelo-Crawford

1. Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier 1 & 3
2. Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
3. Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman
4. Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao
5. Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Duran 1 & 2
6. Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor
7. Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Thomas Hearns
8. Marvin Hagler vs. Thomas Hearns
9. Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Marvin Hagler
10. Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling II
11. Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield II
12. Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennadiy Golovkin I & 2
13. Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Canelo Alvarez
14. Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson
15. Arturo Gatti vs. Micky Ward