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)
