An epic championship boxing match is set to take place between two all-time greats as the undisputed super-middleweight world champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) will defend his crown against Terence “Bud” Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) on Saturday night, September 13th, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, airing live on Netflix.
Known as the face of boxing, the champion Canelo Alvarez has made a career out of defeating the best of the best. While Alvarez plans on adding another prominent name to his resume, the challenger, Terence “Bud” Crawford, is highly focused on defying the odds and earning a historic victory.
In July 2024, the undisputed super-middleweight world champion Canelo Alvarez was stripped of his IBF title because he refused to fight the IBF mandatory challenger William Scull. Instead of fighting his mandatory, Canelo decided to face Edgar Berlanga.
With 1:57 left to go in the third round, Canelo landed a sharp left hook that sent Berlanga down to the canvas. Canelo went on to control the action for the remaining nine rounds of the contest, as he cruised to a unanimous decision victory.
Eight months later, Canelo decided to reclaim his property. The bout between IBF champion William Scull and the WBA, WBO, and WBC unified world champion Canelo Alvarez was extremely hard to watch because Scull was hesitant to engage.
The dull matchup concluded with Canelo collecting a unanimous decision victory as he became a two-time undisputed world champion at 168. The Canelo vs Scull bout was a boring fight, but for the fight fans who watched the contest, the excitement took place immediately after the bout officially ended.
Turki Alashikh proceeded to step inside the squared circle to orchestrate a face-off. The face-off involved Canelo Alvarez and a boxer who possesses a boxing skill set that is equal to an opponent who defeated Canelo approximately 12 years ago.
Back in August 2017, the then-WBC, WBO junior welterweight champion Terence Crawford defeated the WBA, IBF champion Julius Indongo via third-round knockout. With the victory, Terence Crawford became the undisputed 140-pound champion.
Six years later, a mega fight was set to take place as the WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford was set to face the WBC, WBA, IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. The mega fight quickly transitioned into a one-sided affair as Crawford stopped Spence in the ninth round and won the undisputed welterweight crown.
Now ,Terence Crawford has gone up three weight classes to participate in a fight that is high risk, high reward. On the night of September 13th, Terence Crawford will cross paths with King Canelo, and he will attempt to knock Canelo off his throne.
When the Canelo vs Crawford fight was first announced, the odds were largely in Canelo’s favor. Canelo is bigger, he’s stronger, and he’s been fighting as a super-middleweight for the past seven years.
Early on, most people assumed the size factor would come into play, and the bigger man would beat the smaller man. As time marched on and the fight date approached, fans and boxing pundits noticed the fact that Crawford was checking a lot of the proverbial boxes.
When you analyze all aspects of this bout, you will notice that most of the skill advantages are in favor of Crawford. The challenger Terence Crawford has faster hands, a better jab, his punch selection is better, his counter punching, and his ring intelligence are a level above that of the defending champion.
Canelo Alvarez is a boxer-puncher whose key to victory is to target the body, consistently apply intense pressure, and utilize feints to assist in landing his power shots. If he can’t initially land clean shots, Canelo will go to his playbook of hitting a body part such as the bicep, shoulder, or collarbone.
Another key is for Canelo to take advantage of Crawford’s deficiencies. For example, at times, Crawford will hang around in the pocket and put himself in a vulnerable position to get hit by an overhand right, which happens to be Canelo’s knockout punch.
The challenger, Terence Crawford, has all the tools, and he will need to utilize those tools consistently for 12 rounds if he wants to defeat Canelo Alvarez. Canelo likes to use the high guard; therefore, Terence Crawford must have an active lead hand.
Crawford is a switch-hitter who will probably stay in the southpaw stance due to the fact that Canelo has a history of struggling against southpaws. Bud Crawford must use movement, utilize his reach advantage, control the range and distance, and box from outside.
A big question mark about Canelo Alvarez is his stamina. With that being said, Terence Crawford must push the pace and not give Canelo the opportunity to rest during the course of the rounds.
The night of September 13th, two pound-for-pound greats will go to battle. If you cancel out Canelo’s size advantage and Crawford’s skill set advantage, the deciding factor that could determine the outcome of this fight is in favor of Terence Crawford.
The success level between Canelo and Crawford is somewhat even, but Canelo has earned a larger sum of money. With that being said, it seems like Crawford is the fighter who still has the hunger element.
Terence Crawford’s hunger and desire could will him to victory over Canelo due to the fact that Crawford is still passionate about enhancing his legacy. On Saturday night, Terence Crawford is guaranteed to take his legacy to another level if he’s able to defeat Canelo and become a three-division undisputed world champion.’
Last Updated on 09/12/2025
Read the full article here
