The closer we got to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez-Terence Crawford, the less I gave Canelo a chance of victory. I just couldn’t see a way that he could defeat Crawford, or overcome Crawford’s boxing IQ and will to win.
I also saw too much of Floyd Mayweather and Erislandy Lara – who I believe both defeated Canelo – in Crawford, and hadn’t forgotten the way Canelo gave up on victory during his bout with Dmitry Bivol as recently as 2022.
When Canelo fights another fighter with a skill-based style he becomes an effort fighter. He struggled to make adjustments against Crawford so just tried harder; there were times he lunged with left hooks to the body and Crawford, boxing as a southpaw, countered him every time.
Crawford produced a masterclass – his discipline and focus particularly impressed. But Canelo made it easy for him – to the extent that the fight appeared over from the point he started to show frustration in round five. Crawford saw that frustration – he acknowledged it, stuck his tongue out, and in the sixth round picked it up and took complete control. Canelo didn’t respond – he’d already given it his best shot. In round 11, after being struck by a double jab from Crawford’s southpaw stance, he walked off with a look of someone who had once again given up on victory.
Canelo is no doubt in decline, but that doesn’t stop this topping the victory over Errol Spence as the best of Crawford’s career. If agreeing to fight Canelo represented a risk – particularly without a tune-up – it was a calculated risk; Crawford detected Canelo’s decline, and then proceeded to move up two weight classes to defeat the fighter not only recognised as the best in his division but the sport’s highest-profile figure. Their fight wasn’t even close.
I expect Canelo to continue to fight and continue to be well paid, but it’s positive for the landscape at 168lbs that he can no longer hold the titles hostage. It’s also positive that he can travel to London to fight Chris Eubank Jnr, sell thousands of tickets, and earn another bigger purse in front of another big crowd. If he – which seems very unlikely – agreed to fight David Morrell or David Benavidez he’d only record further defeats.
The defeat by Crawford, perhaps harshly, undermines his legacy. In the eyes of his critics it will compound the defeat by Mayweather, despite how young he was, and provide a reminder that he was defeated by Bivol, and struggling mightily against Lara. They might even speak similarly about the defeat by Crawford – that he lost to a welterweight and, unlike we’ve come to expect of a Mexican, gave his titles up without much of a fight.
If that’s harsh, he also doesn’t deserve any sympathy. He resisted fighting Benavidez before his decline became significant; he chose to fight, among others, Edgar Berlanga and William Scull. If he’d fought and lost to Benavidez before 2025 he’d have earned respect for doing the honourable thing – like Julio Cesar Chavez twice did against Oscar De La Hoya. No one holds those defeats against Chavez – they recognise that he was a warrior going out on his shield. Canelo lacking the humility to act similarly has been damaging to boxing – we don’t have a successor to him as the “face” of boxing like Benavidez potentially could have been.
A high-profile fight with Eubank Jnr in 2026 would seem fitting. Fights against either Christian Mbilli or Lester Martinez for a vacant title in the event that Crawford moves on would also appeal.
Post-fight, Canelo said that Crawford’s a better fighter than Mayweather, guaranteeing that that will continue to be debated until the end of time. I interpreted that as recency bias from Canelo – who I’m not convinced is as good as he was when he lost to Mayweather in 2013 – and also a personal attack on Mayweather, but I could very easily make convincing arguments for both.
It’s also since been suggested that Crawford surpassed Oleksandr Usyk as the world’s leading pound-for-pound fighter. Usyk might tell you that it’s Crawford and Crawford might tell you that it’s Usyk – such is the humility of great champions – but I don’t agree. Usyk has consistently been beating younger, tougher, hungrier opponents than Canelo – and he’s also often done so as, like Crawford, the smaller man in the ring.
Crawford, regardless, can do whatever he wants next. He doesn’t need to fight again so I’d love to see him retire and walk off into the sunset the way that Roy Jones Jnr should have after beating John Ruiz. But if we’re comparing him with Mayweather I detect in him the same competitive streak as Mayweather – and therefore the possibility of him watching on from a distance and becoming tempted to prove that he can beat the next fighter on the rise. If he does fight again I certainly don’t think he remains at 168lbs.
His place in history deserves to be alongside the great Marvin Hagler – I see so much in common between them. Hagler recognised that he was unmarketable and had to overcome, like the great Joe Frazier once said, being “a black southpaw who could fight”. Crawford, similarly, once struggled to get the biggest fights – he didn’t fight Shawn Porter when Porter was at his peak, or Danny Garcia or Keith Thurman, even though he wanted to. Like Hagler, he’s a generational talent as well.
Bomac, by the way, told me a year ago that he’d beat Canelo. Their team dynamic is fantastic, and Bomac is a brilliant trainer.
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Naoya Inoue recently said that he wanted to fight with a little more caution. I didn’t believe him when he said it, but he showed that in victory over Murodjon Akhmadaliev, a very dangerous opponent.
If it meant that their fight wasn’t the fight most hoped for, the potential evolution we are seeing in him makes him even more dangerous. His biggest weakness has been his occasional recklessness; he showed increased focus and discipline to dominate and disarm a very good fighter in Akhmadaliev.
Victory keeps him on course to fight Junto Nakatani in 2026. After beating, unusually for him, a smaller opponent, he will next fight David Picasso – a bigger opponent. Picasso represents a dress rehearsal for Nakatani. If he can show the same discipline to work his way inside against Picasso without risking punishment he’ll be as well prepared for Nakatani as he can realistically be.
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Ricky Hatton was a fighter I held close to my heart. I regularly watched him when I was growing up – I watched him beat Joe Hutchinson and Ben Tackle and develop into a crossover star. He later beat Luis Collazo and Paulie Malignaggi, two of my friends. There were also times I wished I was further along in my career and in contention to fight him as well. I was incredibly sad to learn about his death.
