Terence Crawford Reveals Surprising Theory Behind Canelo Alvarez’s Chin

The retired undisputed champion explained why he believes Canelo has remained one of boxing’s toughest fighters to hurt

Terence Crawford spent 12 rounds landing clean shots on Canelo Alvarez and came away with a theory about why the Mexican star remains so difficult to hurt. Crawford says a conversation with his nurse cousin led him to an unusual conclusion.

Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) defeated Canelo by unanimous decision in September 2025 to capture the undisputed super middleweight championship. The win capped one of the most accomplished careers in boxing and made Crawford the first three-weight undisputed champion of the four-belt era before his retirement earlier this year.

Discussing the bout during an interview, Crawford pointed to Canelo’s durability and offered an unusual explanation for it.

“They say that redheads are hard to knock out. It’s proven, I googled it, what are they called? Gingers. I promise you,” said Crawford to PowerfulJRE.

Crawford said a conversation with his cousin, who works as a nurse, led him to look into the subject.

“My cousin, she is a nurse, and she said, ‘Yeah, them gingers, they are hard to put to sleep, even when you give them the anesthetics to go to sleep.'”

“When she told me that, I was like, ‘Damn! That is why Canelo can take so many good shots.'”

Whatever the reason, Canelo’s durability has been one of the defining traits of his career. The Mexican star has never been knocked down or stopped in 68 professional fights despite losses to Floyd Mayweather Jr., Dmitry Bivol, and Crawford.

Canelo (63-3-2, 39 KOs) is scheduled to challenge Christian Mbilli for the WBC super middleweight title on September 12 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Mbilli was elevated from WBC interim champion to full champ earlier this year, in January 27, 2026.

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