Following Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s uneventful unanimous decision victory over William Scull and the reclamation of his IBF 168lbs title, we at least received much more interesting news: Alvarez-Terence Crawford is on for September 12.
Alvarez-Crawford is a somewhat controversial matchup: Some think it’s a superfight, while others believe Crawford is too small and that the fight shouldn’t be happening at all. We’ll give specific predictions during fight week, but here our BoxingScene staff offered their early opinions on this unique matchup.
Owen Lewis: Count me in the camp who didn’t understand this fight when it was first floated. I couldn’t picture how Crawford would trouble Canelo – I envisioned him getting rocked by the first clean punch Canelo landed, then retreating en route to a stoppage or wide decision loss. Weight classes exist for a reason, and all that.
But following Alvarez’s muted, mortal performance against William Scull, I can see Crawford’s path to a victory for the first time. Alvarez has been slowing for a while, but this was the first time in several fights that he failed to even hurt his opponent. Though Crawford is naturally smaller than Scull, and will presumably be less allergic to any exchanges whatsoever, maybe he’ll also have an easier time standing up to Canelo’s power than I initially thought. Unlike Jermell Charlo, Crawford will have had more than a year to turn his body into that of a super middleweight.
With that in mind, and the fact that Canelo hasn’t been seriously threatened since he fought Dmitry Bivol six fights ago, I’ll risk falling prey to recency bias and say that I now think Crawford will give a sufficiently good account of himself to legitimize a rematch.
Tris Dixon: I do think it will be a huge event. I also was one who kind of understood why the fight has made sense for the last two years or so, and Canelo’s form should do nothing to reassure those who think his size will make the difference on fight night. Of course, it will be hard to go against him. And my initial reaction was that Crawford is too aggressive to hit and run, but I think the Mexican is an increasingly static target, and Crawford might be better served keeping it boring and using speed and spite rather than strength and courage.
Jake Donovan: I’m fine with this fight for where both are at in their respective Hall of Fame-bound careers. At the very least, I’ve always believed this would be far more competitive than Canelo Alvarez-Jermell Charlo ever suggested to be on paper or in reality.
I get the concern that Crawford was somewhat humanized against Israil Madrimov last summer and that 154lbs appear to be his ceiling. This is where I believe a year-plus long layoff (come fight night) will actually work in his favor, as he can properly develop into whatever he wants to weigh for this fight.
Canelo has long ago lost a step, though it speaks to his overall greatness that even this version is still among the world’s 10 best fighters. Still, it’s leveled the playing field to where it should alleviate previous concerns of a mismatch based solely on natural size.
Lucas Ketelle: Besides a weight difference, it is hard to not favor Terence Crawford. Crawford at this point is the more motivated fighter coming off wins over Errol Spence Jnr and Israil Madrimov, top guys in their respective divisions. Canelo Alvarez has had a slow, but steady run of less-than-thrilling opposition since losing to Dmitry Bivol.
Crawford seems more motivated, determined and driven by legacy at this point in his career. Alvarez's last performance against William Scull was a tough watch, and Alvarez’s ability to cut the ring off isn’t the same. Alvarez is still a tough guy who hits hard, but his defensive skills don’t look the same. I see two fighters at two different points in their career, and I favor Crawford, one of the most underrated of his era.
Kieran Mulvaney: I have been an unabashed Bud booster since I first started covering his fights for HBO over a decade (!) ago. I'm not denigrating Canelo when I say that I believe that Crawford, especially at this point in time, does almost everything better than Alvarez. One area in which Canelo almost certainly remains superior is in the heaviness of its hands, and of course that has the potential to be the great equalizer. Honestly, I'm more than fine with this fight; it's genuine competition for Canelo for the first time since Bivol, and Bud is also an opponent against whom Canelo can't fight half-assed. I don't think it will be an exciting fight, but it should be an intriguing and skillful one. Should Canelo be fighting David Benavidez first? Yep. But it ain't happening, it seems, and Canelo is impervious to attempts at compulsion or coercion, so we have this instead. And like I said, I'm more than fine with it.
Ryan Songalia: This is another one of those “super-fights” that I don’t recall anyone asking for, but here we are. The first thing people are going to talk about is the size advantage, and while Canelo may be a bit broader, any size differential seemed less pronounced than others would have suggested. Canelo has fought as high as light heavyweight, but he isn’t a particularly physical fighter. He’s more a counterpuncher who uses his ring intelligence to set big punches up, which is why Amir Khan was able to go rounds and why Mayweather was able to outmaneuver him. Crawford can handle himself, and I think people will be surprised that he’ll be able to outmuscle Canelo on the inside and make it rough if he needs to. It’s an obvious money-grab, so might as well grab the money while it’s there. You’re gonna be a citizen a lot longer than you’re gonna be a boxer.
Matt Christie: I have no issue with it. I am surprised, even with all the money on the table, that Canelo is taking the fight ,because I believe Crawford will give him serious problems to the extent the Mexican’s career will be in the balance in the aftermath.
David Greisman: I’m one of the many who yelled until my voice was hoarse for Canelo to face David Benavidez while both were at 168lbs. Now that Benavidez is a light heavyweight, there aren’t really any other super middleweight available for Canelo who piques my interest. Not yet, at least. Would you rather see Canelo face Christian Mbilli or Diego Pacheco right now, or wait until they’ve at least shown more against top-level opponents?
And yes, there are a ton of interesting options available for Crawford at 154lbs, but I understand why he wants to go for the biggest prizefight available after years of not being in the huge events commensurate with his talent. Is it a circus? Yes. But I also see a path to victory for Crawford. This is where I brag that I was one of the few who picked Manny Pacquiao to beat Oscar De La Hoya. And this is where I must also remind you that I’ve gotten plenty of predictions wrong.