Canelo Alvarez has already admitted that if he’s not going to receive credit for defeating the “smaller” Terence Crawford in the fight that Turki Alalshikh wanted this weekend in Las Vegas. Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) realizes that he’s in a no-win position where, regardless of the outcome, he’s not going to be praised by the fans and media.
With the many people suddenly jumping on board the Crawford bandwagon, predicting he’s going to defeat Canelo, the Mexican star should receive full credit if he beats him in their superfight on September 13.
The Credit He’ll Never Get
It’s still unlikely to happen due to Crawford essentially moving up three weight classes for this silver platter opportunity given to him by Alalshikh without requiring him to jump through hoops to get it.
If not for the massive payday Turki is giving Canelo, estimated at $150 million, it’s unlikely the Mexican superstar would have given Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) the fight because there’s nothing to gain from fighting him.
Terence didn’t move up to 160 or 168, and he looked not impressive in his recent jump up a year ago to 154 for a fight against Israil Madrimov in 2024. Crawford captured the WBA junior middleweight title in that fight, edging Madrimov by a narrow 12-round unanimous decision.
According to ESPN, Crawford’s WBA 154-lb title will be stripped from him the moment he enters the ring on Saturday. The current WBA interim champion, Abass Baraou, will be elevated to the new champion.
The No-Win Scenario
“If I beat him, nobody’s going to say, ‘Oh, he beat Crawford because [Canelo’s] a good fighter,” Canelo Alvarez said earlier to ESPN. “He’s [a] pound-for-pound great, too, but he’s smaller. You’re going to start seeing ‘but he’s small and this.”
Canelo could be right. He didn’t receive much credit from fans for his victory over junior middleweight Jermell Charlo two years ago on September 30, 2023. People frequently noted that Jermell had moved up from 154 to 168 for that fight when discussing the victory, which somewhat tarnished the win for Canelo.
The Unavoidable Excuse
It could be even more so for Canelo defending against Crawford, as he’s older at 37, smaller than Jermell, and started his career at 135. It’s an automatic excuse for Terence if he loses, as he’s coming up two divisions and is fighting in his fifth weight class since 2007.
Last Updated on 09/10/2025
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