Following Terence Crawford’s unanimous decision win over Saul “Canelo” Alvarez for the undisputed super middleweight championship, the BoxingScene staff convened to share their thoughts on one of the most seismic victories in boxing history.
Owen Lewis: I’m floored by Crawford’s performance: his punch resistance, his willingness to exchange, his sharp punches that seemed to hurt the iron-chinned Alvarez in the 11th and 12th rounds. Above all, I’m floored by how easy he made the victory look.
Close scorecards notwithstanding, I’m not sure Crawford was ever particularly uncomfortable despite his 13 months of inactivity, inexperience at 168lbs, and the elite, decorated opponent. People may dismiss Alvarez’s post-fight comments for their proximity to the bout – but according to him, Crawford “has everything” and is “way better than Floyd Mayweather.” Does higher praise exist?
When the fight was made, I didn’t think Crawford had a chance. Alvarez’s substandard showing against William Scull helped change my mind. But what played a bigger part was the way people spoke about Crawford ahead of the fight.
Oleksandr Usyk, a candidate for this spot himself, has long maintained that Crawford is the best fighter in the world. Even when it comes to Usyk and Naoya Inoue, Crawford’s pound-for-pound brethren, praise for their abilities is not quite so reverent. But Crawford’s acolytes talk about him like he is a boxing god capable of solving any puzzle presented to him.
Those who picked Crawford to win this fight from the beginning were a minority, yet unshakably certain in their pick. Talking to Tim Bradley during fight week essentially convinced me Crawford would win, simply because of the sheer confidence Bradley had in him. Saturday made what he and others already knew impossible to refute any longer.
Lucas Ketelle: Crawford is an all-time great. He is a fighter from the 1940s in the modern era. Instead of valuing fashion, dance moves or social trends, he values showing his legacy and taking on bigger, and better challenges. What I saw was a modern remix of fighters such as Henry Armstrong and “Sugar” Ray Robinson. Crawford is beyond special, and defeating Alvarez only adds to his luster.
The biggest takeaway for me isn't the fight; it is that Crawford has never had a truly hard fight. He has never had a fight that a subsection of reasonable fans can debate he lost. He has always felt in control and separated, and moving up essentially three weight classes didn’t change that.
Crawford also never seeked A-side advantages, as he went into the Alvarez and Errol Spence Jnr bouts with no catchweights. Crawford is one of those special fighters like Oleksandr Usyk, that once he is gone people will remember just how great he was.
David Greisman: I simultaneously am glad that Terence Crawford is at last getting his flowers while also wondering “What could have been?” when it comes to his career.
It’s a strange question to ask of a fighter who just became undisputed champion for his third weight class (140, 147, 168), was the Ring Magazine champion in a fourth (135) and won a world title in a fifth (154). But while Crawford’s talent has been recognized for some time, his marketability is only now reaching its peak.
What if more boxing fans had latched on to Crawford during his runs at junior welterweight and welterweight? What if Crawford hadn’t re-upped his deal with Top Rank and had been able to make the big fights sooner with the other top names at 147lbs who were signed with Premier Boxing Champions? What if Top Rank hadn’t seemingly kept Crawford and Manny Pacquiao apart while both men were within that company’s stable?
Crawford crossed over with his fantastic drubbing of Errol Spence in 2023, had the competitive win over Israil Madrimov last year and now has capped his career by both out-boxing and out-fighting Canelo Alvarez in front of what will easily be the biggest audience of his career on Netflix. It is a shame that Crawford is nearly 38 years old and likely (and wisely) will be selective in what fights he takes next, maximizing his paychecks given what little time may be left in his career.
Crawford will retire much wealthier thanks to the paychecks he received against Spence and Canelo. Had the spotlight been brighter earlier, he would’ve been able to capitalize to an even greater extent.
Ryan Songalia: Terence Crawford’s victory over Canelo Alvarez is one that should be studied by boxing upstarts for generations to come. Crawford stepped up two weight classes and, without the benefit of a rehydration clause, used his boxing fundamentals to outmaneuver a fighter who had consistent success at much higher weights than Crawford’s.
He didn’t utilize otherworldly physical gifts to beat Canelo; he landed his combinations and got out at angles, keeping the stronger fighter turning and unable to plant for power shots. Crawford did the little things right, like not pulling out of exchanges with his hands low, and prioritizing his hand speed and combinations over trying to match the bigger man’s power. Crawford’s victory was a victory for the sweet science.
As far as what comes next for Crawford, it wouldn’t surprise me if this was his last fight. Crawford isn’t someone typically given to shows of emotion like that which he exhibited afterwards, almost like he was finally able to brush off the chip on his shoulder that had always been his driving force.
I could see a rematch with Alvarez; it’d make a lot of money, though I don’t think there’s anything that would be different. The only way Canelo was going to win on Saturday is if he picked a different opponent. Talks of Crawford fighting the absurdly larger David Benavidez are just that. Give Crawford his due; he has more than earned it.
Lance Pugmire: Crawford’s brilliance in knowing himself, his sport and his opponent is behind all of this, and his wisdom comes in the snap of a finger. Proving how rare a talent he is on the sport’s biggest streaming and live-gate stage in years was the perfect forum to make up for what he was denied in past years – from opponents to critics to marketing types who said he can’t sell.
Yes, Crawford feeds on those doubts and caustic words. The thing is, now he will find none as he is hailed as the best fighter of his era, and likely the greatest this century – a five-division titleholder and a three-division undisputed champion.
If I were him, I’d try a middleweight title fight next and then walk away. As for Canelo Alvarez, I’d avoid the Crawford rematch and move on to a few more showcase bouts – go to England for Chris Eubank Jnr, come back to Las Vegas and ruin Jake Paul.
Jake Donovan: The thing I have long ago come to admire about both Terence Crawford and Oleksandr Usyk is their ability to persevere in a system designed to hold them back. They’ve traveled separate yet similar paths to all-time great status, in the sense that their biggest wins have come as the perceived B-side.
Usyk’s journey has been more his thriving in the role of road warrior. Crawford refused to budge until he finally landed his years-long desired showdown with Errol Spence. Almost immediately thereafter, his team embarked on a path that would lead to the superfight he secured this past weekend.
Furthermore, he didn’t squander a minute of either opportunity – the win over Spence was dominance from beginning to end, while what he accomplished against Alvarez was a perfectly executed gameplan that at times went against the scouting report. The fact that Crawford has accomplished what he has across five divisions – THE man at four of the five – without a single debatable (never mind controversial) outcome is what will forever separate him from the rest, no matter the conversation, including the very short list of the absolute best to ever lace ‘em up.
Tris Dixon: Crawford was so impressive, and I’m sure Canelo fought the way he did because of what Crawford was doing, with his fast hands, movement and a strategy that Canelo couldn’t fathom. But I was disappointed with Canelo. I saw no Plan B. There was no desperation or ambition. And I haven’t seen it now for many of his most recent fights.
I do think he has regressed, and while I’m still keen to give Crawford his flowers, and always have been, you have to be realistic about what Canelo has shown us in recent years. But Crawford is so good, it’s hard to see a motivated version of him being beaten or even pushed by anyone.
