Superstars Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford will fight in Las Vegas this September. The location and date have yet to be determined. Fans have already reacted negatively to Crawford, 37, getting a world title shot at Canelo’s three super middleweight titles without beating a top contender in the weight class first.
The Backlash
Crawford is being allowed to skip the traditional method for fighters to get title shots by contenders. It’s like an NFL team going straight into the Super Bowl in their first fight of the season with a 0-0 record. If allowed, it would make a joke of that league, yet Crawford is doing it in boxing.
Fans have an issue with Canelo-Crawford fighting with three 168-lb titles at stake. If it were labeled an exhibition match, it wouldn’t be viewed negatively because it’s just cheap entertainment with no value behind it, like Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul—junk food entertainment.
It’s believed this will be at 168 without a catchweight, making it near impossible for Crawford to win. At 5’8″, he’s the same height as Canelo but has a smaller frame. He lacks the power to fight at super middleweight unless he dramatically improves in this area.
According to Ring Magazine, unified 168-lb champion Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) and Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) will fight in Vegas in September.
On paper, this is a complete mismatch. Crawford has never fought at 168. He’ll be coming off a year-long layoff and looked unimpressive in his debut. He moved up to 154 from 147 in his last bout, on August 3rd, against Israil Madrimov.
Boxing fans will be less angry if Turki Al-Sheikh prices the Canelo-Crawford match in the $20 range and loads up the undercard with excellent fights, as he’s done with his February 22nd Riyadh Season card.
The Price Point
If this is priced at $80 to $100, and it turns out to be a mismatch with Canelo dominating Crawford, fans will feel swindled for their money, will be angry, and many may choose to steer away from paying to watch future fights on PPV.
The concern is that Crawford is not young, turning 38 in September, and will be coming into the fight with Alvarez never having fought at 168. Crawford is skipping the line of contenders at super middleweight to get a straight shot at Canelo’s three titles.
𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐋𝐎 🆚 𝐂𝐑𝐀𝐖𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐃 👀
Per @ringmagazine, the two P4P superstars will face off in Las Vegas in September 🤩 pic.twitter.com/vn9fpKNX8n
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) February 3, 2025
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