Canelo Alvarez lost his undisputed super-middleweight world title to Terence Crawford in a historic fight back in September, and the Mexican superstar has admitted that he made one major mistake regarding the contest.
Alvarez entered as the favourite due to his size as much as his skill, with Crawford fighting three divisions above what was believed to be his natural weight class.
However, Canelo seemed unable to cut off the ring and Crawford was too intelligent to be caught, as he claimed a sensational unanimous decision win.
Since then, Crawford has announced his retirement from the sport, with his position amongst boxing’s all-time greats now cemented, much to the frustration of Canelo, who still maintains his desire for a rematch.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Canelo recognised that the lack of a rematch is down to him, believing that he should have inserted a rematch clause into the fight contract.
“No, [a rematch was] never discussed [beforehand].
“It was some mistake on my side to not sign a rematch [clause], because the champion always needs to [insert] a rematch clause and I didn’t, for some reason, but I think that things happen for a reason. I hope that the rematch can happen, if not, it’s fine – we need to move forward, right?
Continuing, the four-division conqueror then declared that he has been surprised by Crawford’s lack of interest in a second fight, especially with a lucrative offer on the table.
“I’m surprised [he retired without the rematch]. As a fighter, you want a rematch to show it again, and I’ve always done well in my rematches, so it surprised me a lot.
“It it what it is. It is his life, his career, and I can do nothing with that. I got the feeling that he’s going to come and fight again, but you need to respect that. If he’s out, he’s out, right? But I hope not.”
Canelo will return to action in October, as he challenges Christian Mbilli for the WBC super-middleweight world title in his first outing since defeat to ‘Bud’.
