Facing Canelo Álvarez is the biggest fight of Terence Crawford’s career in more ways than one

Terence “Bud” Crawford places higher than Saul “Canelo” Álvarez on every list of boxing pound-for-pound rankings.

Boxing fans would also near-unanimously agree that the 37-year-old Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) has performed more impressively than the 35-year-old Álvarez (63-2-2, 35 KOs) in recent years.

But few are picking Crawford to knock off Álvarez when they meet on September 13 at Allegiant Stadium in boxing’s biggest-possible fight, which will air live and free to subscribers on Netflix.

The dichotomy is all because of the weight. The light middleweight champion Crawford is moving up two weight classes to challenge Álvarez for his super middleweight championship belt.

Crawford has fought at as low as the 135-pound division throughout his decorated career while Álvarez has competed at as high as 175 pounds. The 168-pound class where the two fighters will face off at Allegiant hardly feels like a fair meeting point.

“You need to gain weight when you move up and it’s complicated,” Álvarez said at a news conference over the summer at T-Mobile Arena. “The preparation is different. Everything needs to be perfect.”

Álvarez is speaking from experience. His last loss came in May 2022 at T-Mobilewhen he climbed to light heavyweight to challenge champion Dmitry Bivol, whose size and power helped lead him to a unanimous-decision upset victory over Álvarez.

Crawford teased Álvarez about the loss throughout a three-stop press tour—the two held media events in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and New York before Las Vegas—and bit back at suggestions that he was set up for a similar fate.

“Do I look like I’m putting weight on right or wrong?” Crawford asked. “We’ll see come fight night. We’ll see if I gas out or if I can’t handle the pressure.”

Crawford, an Omaha, Nebraska native, jumped at the chance to pack on the extra pounds for a matchup with Álvarez. It’s a fight he’s pursued for years.

Crawford might be commonly considered the best all-around boxer of his generation, but it’s the Mexican superstar Álvarez who has been the sport’s biggest draw for close to a decade since the retirement of Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Álvarez never much entertained the idea of a bout with Crawford in the past and referred to it as a “lose-lose” for him going up against a smaller fighter. Money has a way of solving everything in combat sports, however, and Álvarez got more interested as Crawford grew his profile to sweeten the potential payday.

He’ll now reportedly draw the biggest check of his career, up to $150 million, to face Crawford after Turki Alalshikh, advisor to Saudi Arabia’s royal court and boxing’s new biggest power-player, became committed to booking the fight. The Saudis are co-promoting the event with UFC president Dana White, who’s described his long-awaited, first major foray into boxing as “surreal.”

“These are two of the baddest motherf**kers of all time and they’re going to face off at a higher weight class and they’re going to fight,” White said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime fight.”

The stakes have never needed any clarification for Crawford, who believes this is the only fight that can cement his place in the most reserved tier of boxing history.

“After this fight, when I defeat Canelo, I’m going to be on boxing’s Mount Rushmore,” he said.

Crawford, who grew up wrestling, has built his career on being stronger and faster than his opponents. There are real questions on if the qualities will maintain going up against a much larger opponent.

He’s not entirely at a disadvantage though, as the 5-foot-8 Crawford is actually a half-inch taller and has a three-inch longer reach than Álvarez.

But Álvarez’s toughness is widely cited as one of his greatest assets. The bigger opponents Álvarez faced have struggled to hurt him even when they land cleanly, so it’s hard to imagine someone as small as Crawford inflicting significant damage.

Álvarez is also patient and an exceptional counterpuncher, which could get Crawford into trouble if he feels the need to push the action.

“It’s going to be hard to find some weaknesses in Terence Crawford, but I’ve fought the best,” Álvarez said. “I’ve found weaknesses. I’m able to adapt to any situation.”

Álvarez has drawn criticism for facing a weak slate of opponents during his current six-fight winning streak and not looking as inspired in the ring as he once did, with none of the victories coming by stoppage. 

He’s laughed off those accusations and declared, “They can talk but we’ll see.” Fewer motivational concerns are present around Crawford, who has more or less gone silent since the news conferences as he’s hunkered down for training camp primarily in Omaha, with sessions also in Denver and Las Vegas.

It’s unfamiliar territory for Crawford to be so thoroughly doubted, but he’s welcoming all skepticism. 

“I’m a big fan of Canelo,” Crawford said. “I think he’s a great fighter, but I’m better. I think I have all the tools inside of myself. I’m capable of doing anything I want inside the ring.”