WHILE discussing the strength of their resumes – something that has now snowballed into a contentious talking point – Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford were swift to name their most notable victories.
The pair will square off on September 13, headlining a Dana White-promoted card at the Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, in what promises to be a blockbuster event live on Netflix.
But before their undisputed super-middleweight title fight was officially announced, many deemed Crawford, 41-0 (31 KOs), who last fought at 154lbs, far too small to topple Canelo, 63-2-2 (39 KOs).
Yet since then, a lacklustre performance against William Scull, which saw Canelo cement his status as the 168lb king last month, has seemingly inspired a drastic shift in pre-fight predictions.
In any case, the Mexican star remains convinced that Crawford, while being a fellow four-division world champion, has struggled to amass a comparable run of victories against elite opposition.
In response to such claims, which have been uttered throughout this week’s promotional tour, ‘Bud’ has named Ricky Burns and Viktor Postol as two of his greatest opponents.
But while the Burns fight, in particular, holds a special place in his heart, the 37-year-old equally recognises that his punishing ninth-round stoppage victory over Errol Spence Jr – to claim all the jewellery at 147lbs – was what ultimately captured the imagination of fans.
“The most meaningful fight, for me, was becoming a world champion [against Burns],” Crawford said at yesterday’s press conference. “But in the fans’ eyes, my biggest moment was against Errol Spence.”
In equal measure, Canelo named his rematch with Gennady Golovkin, another flip-of-the-coin matchup, when asked to comment on his most impressive achievement in the sport.
In that same breath, though, the 34-year-old made sure to double down on his belief that, when compared to Crawford’s, his CV is far superior.
“For me, I have many [meaningful victories],” Canelo said. “But I think [his rematch] with ‘GGG’ [Golovkin] is one of my biggest.”
