Canelo vs. Crawford: Everything About the Fight of the Year in the Ring

Canelo vs. Crawford: Clash of Titans on Mexican Independence Day

The weekend of Mexican Independence Day is traditionally one of the most important for boxing. This year is no exception, with Mexican superstar Canelo Álvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) putting his undisputed super middleweight championship on the line against former two-division undisputed champion Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs). The event will take place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Saturday (Netflix, 9 p.m. ET). This matchup, billed as “Once in a Lifetime” by the organizers, will see Crawford move up two weight classes to challenge Canelo. If he achieves victory, Crawford would become the first male boxer to be undisputed champion in three divisions in the four-belt era.

For Canelo, this could be the most difficult challenge since his defeat to Dmitry Bivol in 2022, when he tried to move up in weight to compete for the light heavyweight title. This fight is crucial for the legacy of both boxers, who are looking to solidify their names in boxing history.

Why is Canelo fighting Crawford?

The short answer is that Canelo ran out of options and because Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and an influential figure in boxing, wanted this fight. Since his defeat to Bivol, Canelo has opted for the path of least resistance, to the disappointment of many fans. In his last six fights, he has faced rivals like Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin, Jermell Charlo, and other less prominent opponents. He also avoided David Benavidez. Meanwhile, Crawford has been waiting for his opportunity since his victory over Errol Spence Jr. in 2023. Crawford revealed that he initially didn’t have Canelo on his radar due to the size difference, but his desire to overcome adversity led him to seek this fight.

“If I beat him, nobody will say: ‘Oh, he beat Crawford because [Canelo] is a good fighter’. He’s a pound-for-pound great too, but he’s smaller. They’ll start saying ‘but he’s small and this’. But if the money is right, why not at this point in my career?”

Canelo Álvarez

After his fight against Berlanga, Canelo negotiated with Jake Paul. However, Alalshikh intervened with an offer of four Riyadh Season fights for approximately $400 million, which Canelo couldn’t refuse. The first step was to become the undisputed super middleweight champion by defeating Scull, and then the stage was set for Saturday’s showdown.

Is Crawford the 154-pound champion?

Yes, but it will cease to be so once the fight against Canelo begins. Crawford won the WBA title by defeating Israil Madrimov in August 2024, his only fight at 154 pounds. He is expected to relinquish the title once the bell rings, regardless of the outcome. Abass Baraou is the current interim WBA super welterweight champion and will be elevated to full champion once the Canelo-Crawford fight begins, according to the WBA.

Has Canelo moved up in weight to challenge another champion?

Besides the fight with Bivol, Canelo defeated Sergey Kovalev in 2019 to win the WBO light heavyweight belt, adding a world title in a fourth division. However, Kovalev was in the final phase of his career.

How does Crawford’s weight class jump differ from Canelo’s?

Crawford has never competed at 160 pounds, let alone 168. Furthermore, Crawford is challenging the undisputed champion, rather than having a warm-up fight against another 168-pound fighter to adapt to the weight class. The degree of difficulty for Crawford is much greater than what Canelo attempted when he moved up in weight.

Why did Crawford take this opportunity? What’s at stake?

After defeating Spence, Crawford had no renowned rivals to face. He could have stayed at 147 pounds and defended his titles against Jaron “Boots” Ennis, but he would be the hunted, not the hunter. He could also have sought to become undisputed at 154 pounds after defeating Madrimov, but the quality of the opposition was not adequate. Between Canelo’s pound-for-pound status and his name recognition, Crawford could earn significantly more by fighting Canelo. However, there is a significant risk with the reward. If he fails, Crawford will see his undefeated record disappear along with his status as one of the top three pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

Is this really the biggest fight of this century?

No. That honor belongs to the Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao fight in 2015. Nor will it be the second largest. Mayweather’s boxing match with MMA superstar Conor McGregor in 2017 generated 4.3 million pay-per-view buys and generated $600 million in total revenue. However, Canelo vs. Crawford may be a better fight than either of those matchups. Pacquiao was not the destructive force he once was entering his fight with Mayweather and was outboxed by “Money” in a disappointing decision loss. The novelty of Mayweather-McGregor was more significant than the actual competition. Mayweather let the Irishman tire himself out for nine rounds before achieving a stoppage in the tenth round. Canelo-Crawford is expected to approach a full house with a crowd of 65,000 fans at Allegiant Stadium, which would surpass the previous boxing attendance record in Las Vegas, when 29,214 fans attended the 1982 fight between Larry Holmes and Gerry Cooney at the specially built outdoor stadium of Caesars Palace. The Canelo-Crawford audience could be larger, considering it is broadcast worldwide on Netflix, but it will not have a greater appeal than any of the events headlined by Mayweather.

Have Canelo or Crawford ever fought in a stadium?

This will be Canelo’s third fight in an NFL stadium, while Crawford will compete in an NFL stadium for the first time at the home of the Las Vegas Raiders. Canelo fought Liam Smith in 2016 and Billy Joe Saunders in 2021 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. He also defeated Ryder at Akron Stadium in Jalisco, Mexico, in 2023, a soccer stadium that is home to Club Deportivo Guadalajara.

How can we expect the fight to unfold?

Neither Canelo nor Crawford have a high punch output, so the fight has the potential to be a chess match, as both fighters choose their moments and stay out of danger. Canelo will almost certainly try to use his size to intimidate the smaller Crawford, while “Bud” will use his underestimated footwork, his precise counter-punching, and his speed to intercept the champion’s advances.

This shouldn’t resemble Canelo’s fights with Scull or even Charlo at all. Scull refused to engage, and Charlo seemed to give up and survive to cash his check. Crawford is a fighter first and foremost and will go out on his shield if necessary. Canelo has been known to navigate to a decision when the opponent doesn’t pose a threat to him (re: Berlanga, Munguia, Scull, Charlo), but it’s unlikely Crawford will go into survival mode at any point in the fight.

Is Canelo the favorite to win?

ESPN BET has the undisputed super middleweight champion as a -175 favorite over Crawford. Canelo hasn’t been an underdog in the betting since his second fight with Golovkin in 2018.

Will the winner of this fight be considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world?

Not entirely. It only works for Crawford, who will become undisputed champion in an unprecedented third weight category if he defeats Canelo. Achieving the feat will almost certainly catapult Crawford to the top spot currently held by undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. If Crawford defeats Canelo, it will be almost blasphemous to keep him out of the top spot. Beating a smaller fighter in Crawford probably won’t propel Canelo to the top spot, however. Currently ranked No. 8 in ESPN’s pound-for-pound rankings, Canelo will certainly move up if he wins, but it probably won’t be enough to surpass Usyk, junior featherweight undisputed champion Naoya Inoue (No. 2) or even light heavyweight unified champion Bivol (No. 4).

Are there any other fights on the card I should pay attention to?

The WBC interim super middleweight champion and undefeated Christian Mbilli (29-0, 24 KOs) will face the also undefeated 168-pound fighter Lester Martinez (19-0, 16 KOs) in what is expected to be an action-packed fight in which the winner could find themselves in line to challenge the winner of the main event. Mbilli is currently ESPN’s number 2 super middleweight and is coming off a one-sided destruction of Maciej Sulecki in June. The Cameroonian-French boxer has been one to watch over the past year after scoring four KO victories in his last five fights.

Although the co-main event between super welterweights Callum Walsh (14-0, 11 KOs) and Fernando Vargas Jr. (17-0, 15 KOs) doesn’t have a world title on the line, it should be an entertaining fight between two fighters looking to make a statement. Walsh is mentored by UFC CEO Dana White and has been a fixture on UFC Fight Pass throughout his career. He is also one of the key fighters competing for TKO Group’s Zuffa Boxing. He will face the son of former boxing star Fernando Vargas. Fernando Jr. is not as acclaimed as his younger brother Emiliano Vargas, but he will defend the family name.