Fans got excited today after Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis posted a photo of him and Canelo Alvarez standing inside the ring after a sparring session ahead of Canelo’s ‘Fight of the Century’ against Terence Crawford on September 13th at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Canelo’s Secret Weapon
Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs) is using the 28-year-old former two-time welterweight champion Ennis (34-0, 30 KOs) to get him ready for his defense of his undisputed super middleweight championship in 21 days on Netflix.
The preparation that Alvarez is getting with sparring against Ennis is more than what he’ll be dealing with going against the 38-ish Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs). Based on Crawford and ‘Boots’ Ennis’ recent performances, the younger fighter, Ennis, is fighting at a higher level than Bud.
“This is going to be the toughest fight, and the best fighter that Bud has ever been in the ring with,” said former light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver to Boxing News, talking about what Terence Crawford is facing in his battle against undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on September 13th.
— Boots (@JaronEnnis) August 23, 2025
It’s going to be the “best fighter” Crawford has fought in the eyes of fans. Going into this match, Israil Madrimov gave Crawford his toughest career test, coming close to beating him last year on August 3, 2024.
The Real GOAT Debate
“Arguably, this could be the best fighter that Canelo has ever been in the ring with. We’ll find out which one is which on September 13th,” said Tarver.
Crawford is not the best fighter Canelo has fought. Even if Terence wins on September 13th, fans will recognize these fighters above him:
- Dmitry Bivol
- Gennadiy Golovkin
- Floyd Mayweather Jr.
- Erislandy Lara
“If Canelo ends the fight on Crawford, boxing will continue, because there’s going to be another Canelo, another Mayweather, another Ali, there’s going to be another one coming up,” said Hall of Fame fighter, Tim Bradley on his channel, calming down fans, who are worreid that Canelo will retire if he loses to Crawford.
“Canelo ain’t nothing. He’s not the savior of boxing. Jake Paul is.”
There will be a lot of disappointed fans if Canelo loses to Crawford and retires immediately after. There isn’t anyone at 154, 160, or 168 that can take Canelo’s place as the Face of Boxing.
There is concern among fans that Alvarez will abruptly retire if Crawford beats him in the same fashion he did Errol Spence Jr. in 2023. Errol hasn’t fought since that defeat, and the same thing could happen to Canelo if he gets knocked out by Bud.