Zuffa Boxing promoter Dana White views Saturday’s Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford fight as involving the best of the best of our generation in a “must-see” clash on September 13th.
The Promoter’s Self-Serving Pitch
That comment is more self-serving, as neither fighter looks spectacular in their recent performances. Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs) looked slow and feeble, throwing only 152 punches in his victory over William Scull earlier this year on May 3.
The soon-to-be 38-year-old Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) came close to losing in his move up to 154 against Israil Madrimov a year ago on August 3. Crawford’s performance showed that he’s not the fighter he once was, and if he stayed at 154, he’d likely have suffered his first loss.
The Reality of an Overhyped Bout
I believe the Canelo-Crawford fight is still a good match for sentimental purposes, as it features two aging former outstanding fighters battling on Saturday on Netflix at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. But what this fight is not is the best vs. the best. In my estimation, Canelo is not the best fighter at 168 and would lose to these fighters:
- Diego Pacheco
- Hamzah Sheeraz
- Christian Mbilli
- Jose Armando Resendiz
- Osleys Iglesias
Crawford’s Battle with Time
If Terence had stayed at 154, in my opinion, he would have lost to Jaron Ennis, Abass Baraou, Vergil Ortiz Jr., Bakhram Murtazaliev, and Sebastian Fundora. I think Father Time has caught up to the Omaha, Nebraska, native Crawford. It’s caught up to him a little faster than it otherwise would have due to his chronic inactivity over the last four years, fighting once a year.
“Crawford is undefeated and willing to move up in weight and fight Canelo. Two of the all-time best putting it all on the line,” said Dana White to Ring Magazine on X. “Anytime you put on a fight, what makes people care about it is what’s at stake.
“That’s why some of this celebrity stuff that happens, I think it’s goofy. It’s not what I do. But I completely understand that you want to see the trainwreck and see who is going to win. What I love is two of the absolute best ever that are willing to put it on the line on night to see who is the best fighter of our generation.