The Grudge Lingers: Crawford’s Reluctance To Give Credit To Canelo Alvarez Suggests A Deeper Insecurity About The Fight

Terence Crawford showed signs of being a classic example of a bitter winner, choosing to minimize and discredit Canelo Alvarez after defeating him by a 12-round unanimous decision last Saturday night at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Did a Welterweight Hit Harder?

When Crawford was asked after the fight if Canelo (63-3-2, 39 KOs) was the “hardest hitter” he’s faced during his 17-year professional career, he said no. He says welterweight EgidijusKavaliauskas hit him harder than Canelo.

What Crawford failed to say is that he stood and fought Kavaliauskas. He didn’t do that with Canelo. He was running nonstop throughout the fight.  Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) spent most of each round moving constantly on the outside, mimicking perfectly the style of Alvarez’s last opponent, William Scull. Fans found it boring to watch, and there was a lot of booing from them in the audience.

Crawford’s Grudge Against Canelo

It was interesting to see how Crawford was still seemingly holding a grudge against Canelo, which made him reluctant to take the high road in victory. Hence, his decision to minimize Canelo after the fight. Crawford’s decision to take a verbal shot at Canelo’s power suggests that he still feels inwardly dissatisfied with his performance, believing he still feels he needs to justify himself, which shows that he’s insecure about his win.

The Low Bar for Entertainment

That’s understandable when watching how Crawford got his victory. He ran rather than staying in the trenches to fight Canelo in the manner that fans had seen from the exciting to watch Christian Mbilli vs. Lester Martinez fight on the undercard. Crawford’s performance didn’t come close to measuring up to either of those warriors. That fight was the gold standard for excitement on last night’s card. In contrast, Crawford’s fight was the low bar for entertainment.

A 2-on-10 Scale Performance

In terms of drama, Canelo-Crawford was a two on a ten scale. It was very, very boring to watch, and the reason for that was Terence. He chose to ignore Turki Alalshikh’s mandate of NO Tom and Jerry fights and instead ran around the ring for 12 rounds. It was easily the dullest fight on the card, and believe me, there were a lot of bad ones on this barebones undercard.

I wouldn’t blame Turki Alalshikh one bit if he chooses not to put up money for Crawford to fight Canelo in a rematch or any of the other top fighters like David Benavidez or whoever he has in mind. Fans saw how Crawford chooses to fight, and it’s not entertaining to watch, lacking value. This is 2025.

Fans want entertainment now, and I saw nothing from Crawford’s methods for victory that showed that he met that standard. His style was more suited to the pre-Internet days of the Mayweather era, when fans had limited options for entertainment.

“I’ve been hit harder. But ‘Mean Machine’ [Egidijus Kavaliauskas] hit harder than Canelo to me,” said Terence Crawford during the post-fight press conference when asked if Canelo Alvarez was the hardest puncher he’s faced during his career.

Some fans on social media viewed this as low class on Crawford’s part, but it plays into him holding a grudge and showing signs of insecurity.