Canelo Alvarez admits that a victory over Terence Crawford will improve his “legacy” in their superfight this Saturday night at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Speaking in absolutes, Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs) says “when” he defeats Crawford, not if.
Canelo will defend his undisputed super middleweight championship against Crawford, who is moving up two weight classes to try to rip his four belts away from him. The two are headlining on the Netflix broadcast.
Notable Undercard fights
Callum Walsh vs. Fernando Vargas Jr: Chief support
Christian Mbilli vs. Lester Martinez: WBC interim super middleweight title at stake
Kellerman’s Grim Outlook for Crawford
“How does Crawford stop him? It’s hard to stop Canelo, and if you can’t stop him, how do you get the decision?” said commentator Max Kellerman to Netflix, talking about what Terence Crawford is up against this Saturday night.
Kellerman could be right. Crawford may need to knock out the superstar Canelo for him to get the victory in this fight, as he’s facing a much more popular fighter. If it comes down to which fighter is landing the harder, cleaner shots, it’ll likely be Canelo due to his superior punching power.
Of course, we don’t know if Crawford has made huge improvements in the pop on his shots in the 13 months that he’s been out of the ring. At nearly 38, it’s unlikely that Terence has gained much strength in the year that he’s been inactive, going into Saturday’s fight with Alvarez.
Canelo’s Absolute Confidence
“My style doesn’t change because I can do everything. I can box. I can go forward. I can counter-punch. I can do whatever I want,” said Canelo Alvarez. “Of course, but I’m not thinking about losing,” said Alvarez when asked whether a victory over Crawford would push his legacy up further. “I can feel it. I’m ready right now. If the fight is right now, I’m ready.”
Canelo’s style will need to involve a lot more coming forward in this fight for him to win or at least make it exciting to watch. Many fans believe Crawford is going to try to turn the fight into a chess match, using his long reach and mobility to stick and move for 12 rounds. In Terence’s last fight against Israil Madrimov on August 3, 2024, he was forced to mix it up more due to the mobility and sharp punches he was receiving.
“The anticipation of what he’s going to do next is what keeps you intrigued. Probably the best in the business at making you see what he’s looking at. Making you think he’s going there and he’s coming up top. He’s mastered that,” said host of Ring Champs Akin Reyes about Canelo.
The Scull Fight as a Blueprint
The only question is whether Canelo will get near enough to Crawford to land his power shots to the head and body. As we’ve seen in some of Crawford’s fights during his career, he can be elusive and hard to hit due to his movement and cat-like reflexes.
If Canelo can pressure Crawford the way he did at times against William Scull earlier this year on May 3, it’s going to be entertaining to see how he reacts to getting hit. What fans don’t want is for this fight to devolve into a Tom and Jerry-type contest and fail to live up to the huge billing. Turki Alalshikh has repeatedly labeled this clash, ‘The Fight of the Century,’ which puts a lot of pressure on Canelo and Crawford to live up to that.
