

LAS VEGAS – A year of bulking up for a historic bout took Terence Crawford to a record-high weigh-in result of 167.5 pounds Friday while undisputed super-middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez treated the session as a business-as-usual event by also coming in at 167.5.
In a behind-the-scenes ceremony at the Fontainebleau, Crawford, 37, secured his attempt to move up two divisions and defeat the most popular fighter of his era in what will be the first-ever prizefight at the NFL’s Allegiant Stadium.
A public weigh-in ceremony will occur Friday night with the fighters commenting further on their preparation and the bout.
Crawford, 41-0 (31 KOs), last fought in August 2024, moving up from his 2023 undisputed welterweight title victory over Errol Spence Jnr to defeat then-WBA 154lbs champion Israil Madrimov by a narrow decision in Los Angeles.
Crawford’s pursuit of greatness versus his fellow four-division champion and a record purse after years of being denied lucrative payouts in the welterweight division has brought him here.
The pressing questions on him as he enters the bout are if he’s capable of hurting the granite-chinned Alvarez, who has never been knocked down, and if he’s risking too much damage by straying into reach of the naturally heavier Alvarez, who is looking for his first knockout since 2021.
Alvarez, 63-2-2 (39 KOs), will be the heavy fan favorite on his traditional Mexican Independence weekend following a chorus of boos for Crawford both at his grand arrival and Thursday’s news conference inside T-Mobile Arena.
Among Saturday’s other bouts:
10 rounds – junior middleweight
Callum Walsh (153.5lbs) vs. Fernando Vargas Jnr (153lbs)
10 rounds – WBC super-middleweight interim title
Christian Mbilli (167lbs) vs. Lester Martinez (167lbs)
10 rounds – junior-middleweight
Serhii Bohachuk (155lbs) vs. Brandon Adams (156lbs)

Lance Pugmire has been a full-time boxing writer for nearly 20 years, serving now as BoxingScene’s U.S. Senior Writer and assistant producer for ProBoxTV’s “BoxingScene Today.” Pugmire capped a near 20-year career at the Los Angeles Times (sports investigations, NHL/MLB beat work, law enforcement/courts and boxing/UFC) to join The Athletic, and then USA Today. Pugmire’s stint at The Times started with the first Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fight and the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jnr then-record pay-per-view, leading through a slew of ringside assignments at major bouts, including Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-Canelo and the Canelo-Golovkin trilogy. Lance’s appreciation for boxing is rooted in his admiration and appreciation for the fighters, gladiators who have proven to be the most forthcoming and candid of all the athletes he has interviewed over a career dating to 1990. Lance was honored to be named the 2022 winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence and he’s collected many BWAA writing awards in categories ranging from breaking news to deep-dive long features.