Trainer Robert Garcia says he wants to see a rematch between Canelo Alvarez and Crawford. He believes Canelo (63-3-2, 39 KOs) can beat Crawford in the rematch if he fights aggressively and is willing to walk through shots to land his own.
Garcia states that Canelo needs to get his hunger back, and because he thinks that was missing from him in his 12-round unanimous decision loss to Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) last Saturday, September 13, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Turki Alalshikh’s Expensive Decision
Turki Alalshikh is the one who will decide whether there will be a rematch. He’s not showing signs that he wants to see them fight again, and it’s understandable why. He dished out a lot of money to Canelo and Crawford with enormous purses.
Neither of them turned in the kinds of performances that justify the money they received. Canelo reportedly got $150 million, and Crawford $50 million. If there’s a rematch, they’d both likely expect a pay increase. It’s not worth it.
Turki can use that money to host a lot of great events featuring younger, all-action fighters who bring it, and don’t bore the crowd by running or gassing out, as we saw last Saturday night.
If I were Turki, I’d treat Canelo and Crawford like they’ve got the plague and forget about a rematch. I’d offer Crawford a fight against David Benavidez only, and if he turned it down, I’d move on and focus on less picky, ambitious fighters.
Canelo needs to be matched against exclusively stationary fighters that don’t run. He has fought runners in back-to-back fights in 2025, in his bouts against Crawford and William Scull. He needs to fight only stationary fighters for the remainder of his career because he doesn’t have the wheels to chase movers around the ring.
Garcia Calls for Canelo-Crawford Rematch
“I would love to see the rematch. I think if he comes back with the hunger that he needs, he could beat Crawford,” said trainer Robert Garcia to Fight Hub TV about Canelo Alvarez beating Terence Crawford in a second fight if he comes back with hunger.
Fans don’t seem all that excited about seeing a second fight, and it’s obvious why. It was a boring fight filled with a lot of movement by Crawford, who had his track shoes on to turn in a Jerry-esque performance.
I’m assuming he didn’t feel obligated to Turki Alalshikh for the $50 million and chose to do his thing by fighting in a safety-first manner through most of the rounds. He fought aggressively at times in the ninth, but not in any of the other rounds. If the fans thought it was a great fight, they’d be pushing for a rematch, but they’re not.
Walk Through Shots to Win
“Crawford is very talented, but I think Canelo could beat him. He can take a good punch. I think if he doesn’t respect his [Crawford] punch, throw punches, even though you’re going to get hit, but don’t give up. Keep going until you hit him,” said Robert.
With more aggression, a little bit better conditioning, and judges that factor bodyshots in their scoring, Canelo can win the rematch with Crawford. Even if Alvarez does gas out in the championship rounds, he can still win if he banks enough rounds in the first half. Again, it’ll also come down to the judges.
The ones that worked last Saturday weren’t giving Canelo much credit for all the shots that he was landing to the body of Crawford. They also didn’t appear to give Alvarez credit for the pressure he was putting on. It was him making the fight, and Crawford running around, trying not to get hit. You can argue that Canelo fought well enough to win eight of the twelve rounds.
A Change Needed in the Corner
“They’ve accomplished so much together. There has to be a little bit more in the corner. Be a little more aggressive. They’re too comfortable,” said Garcia about Canelo and his long-time trainer Eddy Reynoso.
Eddy was trying to light a fire under Alvarez in between rounds in the Crawford fight, but he wasn’t following his instructions by fighting more aggressively. When Canelo finally started being more aggressive in the ninth, Crawford took advantage of this by countering him repeatedly and lighting him up with combinations. That was arguably Terence’s best round in the fight.
Canelo looked like he gave up after round nine, and went back to throwing single punches, and not attacking Crawford the way that he needed to.