THIS September, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and Terence Crawford will collide in arguably the biggest event of the year. However, following a disappointing display at the weekend, fans are beginning to change their opinions on who will come out on top.
After being rumoured for the last 18 months, Saturday saw Turki Al-Alshikh officially announce that Canelo Alvarez, 63-2-2 (39 KOs), will attempt to defend his undisputed super-middleweight title against Crawford, 41-0 (31 KOs), on Friday, September 12.
However, last Saturday in Riyadh played host to one of the dullest encounters in recent memory. Canelo comfortably outpointed an elusive William Scull, 23-1 (9 KOs), but broke the record for winning a 12-round fight with the least amount of punches thrown (152) in the process, as per CompuBox.
With 67 fights to his name, there is no denying that Canelo is now fighting Father Time and beginning to lose rounds down the stretch. He has failed to register a knockout win in his last seven outings—a run that stretches back to 2021.
Although once deemed a power puncher, it is not just the lack of knockouts that draws concern; rather, it is the lack of killer instinct and ability or eagerness to at least attempt to finish opponents when wounded that has Canelo looking like a shadow of himself.
Instead, the Mexican superstar seems content with going the distance and securing a win rather than hunting down prey as he did in the past. Still, this sequence of decisions was expected to come to an end on Saturday against an extremely overmatched Scull.
Disappointingly, that was not the case, as Scull boxed a typical defence-first Cuban style. A flat-footed and one-paced Canelo followed him thoughtlessly, unable to cut off the ring or spring any meaningful attack or flurry.
Consequently, after originally being deemed too big for a former lightweight champion in Crawford, opinions on social media have begun to change. Warning signs in Alvarez’s performance, regardless of his win, were there for all to see.
An undefeated four-division world champion, Crawford will have much faster feet than Canelo when they meet in September. His shot selection and boxing IQ mean that he would capitalise on an immobile Canelo, should Saturday’s performance be any indication of how the latter will look in September.
Yet, there are drawbacks with 37-year-old Crawford, too. He will have just fought once since his undisputed welterweight title win, two years prior, when he challenges for the undisputed super-middleweight crown.
That performance was a unanimous decision against WBA super-welterweight champion Israil Madrimov, one of the smaller men at 154 lbs but one who still provided ‘Bud’ with one of his toughest fights.
Jumping up an additional two weight classes, it will be intriguing to see how Crawford copes with such a significant increase in size and whether he can deal with the power punches of a fully-fledged 168-lber—if Canelo is able to land those shots.
Boxing News’ online team discusses Canelo vs. Crawford
With social media seeming to U-turn on suggestions that Canelo would be too much of a jump up in size for Crawford, BN Online writers were asked for their opinions on the fight.
Tom Eaton – “Personally, I picked Canelo to win similarly to how he beat Jermell Charlo, with Charlo being outmuscled and Crawford being an even smaller opponent.
“However, Crawford is game as they come and will be highly encouraged by the vulnerabilities shown by Canelo on Saturday, knowing full well that he will be able to get out of trouble if he ever feels under pressure.
“Any dubious decision aside, it’s hard to look past Crawford being the man to put an end to Canelo’s run of unimpressive wins and hand him a first defeat at super-middleweight.”
Oscar Pick – “I was always picking Crawford to be fair. I just think that the movement will be too much of a problem for Canelo, his feet look like they have been stuck in the mud in recent fights.”
Steve Wellings – “I was backing Crawford before Saturday, since Canelo fought [Dmitry] Bivol I have been thinking that he is primed for the taking. He is too one-paced and he hasn’t got the stamina to put it together for rounds at a time.”
Shaun Brown – “After I saw Crawford beat [Ricky] Burns, I had a £50 bet with my mate that he would go undefeated throughout his whole career. Nothing has changed my mind.
“Canelo is ponderous and one-paced, Crawford is a mover and a sharpshooter. I always thought Crawford on points.”
With four months to wait until Canelo-Crawford, it seems as though there is a very real possibility that the Omaha-born southpaw could cement himself as the standout fighter of this generation. Any triumph should see Crawford fully credited as such, rather than a slight on Canelo and his decline.
