Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford will reportedly meet in September in Las Vegas.
Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford have reached an agreement for a September fight in Las Vegas, according to The Ring’s Keith Idec.
The fight will, as you likely would guess, be a Riyadh Season event.
Canelo vs Crawford has been a project for promoter Turki Alalshikh since last year, though Canelo, 34, initially expressed disinterest in facing a much smaller opponent, feeling that he would not be given much credit even if he won the fight.
The Mexican superstar did, however, change his tune inch by inch, and eventually the bottom line was clear: It would come down to money, which both fighters have stated is a key motivating factor, if not the key motivating factor at this point in their careers.
Obviously, everyone has been offered enough.
Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KO) fought twice last year, beating Jaime Munguia in May and Edgar Berlanga in September, and expects to keep the same schedule this year. It’s likely he will fight on May 3, potentially against IBF super middleweight titleholder William Scull, which would allow Alvarez the chance to fully re-unify the division after passing on a mandatory defense against Scull to face Berlanga last year, resulting in the IBF stripping Canelo of their belt.
The 37-year-old Crawford (41-0, 31 KO) fought just once in 2024, a hard-earned victory over Israil Madrimov in what was Crawford’s first fight at 154 lbs. He’s won titles at 135, 140, 147, and 154, and a leap up to 168 to face the top man in the division and the biggest name of an era is a risk worth taking, not just for money but also in a bold attempt to potentially be seen not just as a great, but a true all-time fighter.
Crawford has only fought once per year in 2020-24, so it’s entirely possible he will not have a bout before he faces Canelo in September. The most likely exact date for Canelo vs Crawford would be September 13 or 20, though an exact date has not been reported.
What do you think we see from Canelo vs Crawford? Is Canelo simply too big and physically strong, or can Crawford stay unbeaten and make further history?
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