There’s nothing like a big fight night, and the anticipation is at an all-time high.
Canelo Alvarez vs. Terrance Crawford
This Saturday, live from Las Vegas, Nevada inside Allegiant Stadium, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez will put his Undisputed Super-Middleweight Championship up on the line against the undefeated, unbeaten, four-division champion; Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford in what’s sure to be the fight of a lifetime.
In boxing, it’s rare in this day and age to get these mega fights. Whether it’s due to someone not wanting to oblige to contract, miscommunications, money, or various other issues, we don’t see many super-fights in boxing anymore. But, since Turki Alalshikh has taken the boxing world by storm with Riyadh Season, he seemingly has the power and money to make things happen. Combine that with the UFC’s head promoter Dana White, it’s no surprise this fight is as big as it is.
This marks the first official fight promoted by Dana White as he takes the leap into promoting boxing under the Zuffa Boxing banner. Dana and Turki have set out to pour money and hype into this fight to make it as big as it possibly can be, and it has worked. But, make no mistake about it, it isn’t just the promotion selling the fight, it’s the fight itself. The two future Hall Of Famer’s put their legacy’s on the line in what will be their biggest and toughest matchup.
Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford is the challenger in this situation. Coming in with a perfect record of 41-0, he stands undefeated with 31 knockouts (a 75.6% rate!) 4 titles, and the first man to be two-time undisputed champion, looking now to be the first man to become three time undisputed champion, if things go his way Saturday night. The last time Crawford stepped into a ring for a fight of this magnitude, all eyes were on him as he stood across from the 28-0 Errol Spence Jr, to which many critics believed Terrance would struggle. He did the exact opposite as he dominated the fight and finished the former undefeated foe.
But, this time, once again an underdog, things are different for Terence. Crawford came in at 154 pounds for his last fight, but will be moving up 14 pounds to 168lbs for his matchup this Saturday. This brings cause for concern. Canelo is bigger, stronger and most likely has more punching power than the smaller ‘Bud’. Terence is certainly not the first man to move up in weight, but arguably the first to do it against an undisputed champion at the top of their game, such as Canelo Alvarez. But, will speed be an advantage for Terence? Or will the extra weight slow him down? Will he bring more power upon the move up, or will Canelo be able to eat it and fire back with fists of bricks? So many questions and they’ll all be answered Saturday night.
One thing is for sure, Canelo Alvarez is coming to ruin that potential history from Crawford and take his 0 along with it. Alvarez is 63-2-2, also with 4 titles and 39 knockouts to his name, a 61.9% clip. Canelo is coming off of a lackluster fight from just back in May, but no fault of his own. On May 25, 2025, Canelo took on William Scull, who decided to dance around the ring and run from Canelo the entire fight. This left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth, and had Crawford unimpressed as he watched from ringside. But make no mistakes about it, the lack of fighting was on Scull, and not the champion. Before that, Canelo defeated top challenge Edgar Berlanga soundly by unanimous decision, almost one year ago to the day, on September 14, 2024. Canelo has been on a tear and his 63 wins show that. But, unlike Crawford, Canelo has tasted defeat. In 2022, Dmitry Bivol defeated Canelo Álvarez by unanimous decision, handing him his second taste of defeat. The first? Back in 2013 a young Canelo lost to the one and only, Floyd Mayweather by unanimous decision when he dared to be great. Despite that loss early on, Floyd himself even said that Canelo would become the future of boxing, and he was correct.
Despite the two losses and some close fights from Canelo, the champion still has never been knocked out, let alone knocked down. The same can be said for Terence Crawford, who has also never been officially knocked down, aside from a slip, that many still believe was a knockdown in 2019.
When Knockouts are a topic of conversation, it’s hard not to point out that Canelo has not scored a knockout since 2021 when he TKO’d Caleb Plant in the 11th round. Canelo has been criticized since that maybe his power has lessened as he gets older, but Alvarez has made it clear that he disagrees with that statement. The last TKO for Terrance was of course Errol Spence Jr, just two fights ago. This throws a new wrench into how people may see this fight going. Has Canelo’s power toned down?
Personally, I believe the size and power advantage talk is all over blown. When the two greats stood face to face at their press conference, it was clear that there was no significant size advantage. Much will be revealed as far as weight goes when they’re in the ring, but so far, nothing stands out. I also don’t believe Canelo’s power has lessened, and he has what it takes to knock Crawford out. But, Crawford also has what it takes to finish Alvarez. The mid-fight stance switches will be a big key role for Crawford as he troubles fighters with his unique fighting style, and Canelo’s speed and power will be his key, if he pushes the pace and keeps the fight going his way. This is what makes things so interesting. Despite what many fans and critics may seem to think, the reality is, we have the two pound-for-pound best fighters going head to head against one another and anything could happen. This is what fight fans dream of, this is the stuff of legend.
We’ve had Hagler-Hearns, Ali-Frazier, Tyson-Holyfield, Mayweather-Pacquiao, now, we have Canelo-Crawford. One man stands tall as the current best in the world when it’s all said and done this Saturday night. Both men will be in the hall of fame, both men will be considered G.O.A.T’s, but only one man can say that they’re just simply, better.
Canelo vs. Crawford main event starts at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT on Saturday, September 13, 2025, and streams live exclusively on Netflix. The preliminary fights begin earlier, with coverage starting at 5:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. PT on YouTube.
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